How Many Lefts?
by Glimare
Summary: Gabriel gets his wish, at a cost. Adrien is understandably angry, but he doesn't know why. Secrets are revealed by a simple request, and everything falls apart. And it's up to Emilie to pick up the pieces, when she doesn't even know what the puzzle is supposed to be! Agreste family-centric, but Marinette's in here too, I swear! Somewhat AU ;]
1. 1 – Hawkmoth Won

Hey there! I have a ton of other fics I want to work on but this one seems to be short so I'll do it first. Love Adrien and the endless possibilities with him and his 'Hawkdaddy'. XD So this is just one. Originally it was intended to just be this chapter here, but it's gone further. gee, what a surprise. *looks at _Daddy, Not Bats_ * So this will be a little more disjointed. Playing around with storytelling this time.

Either way, enjoy! and remember:

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 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own any of the Miraculous characters in this fic. I just borrowed them at work for my entertainment and am sharing them with everyone else now. :P

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 **1 – Hawkmoth Won**

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

"Adrien," the Cesaire girl started, almost squatting at the teen's side, "you need to leave. Sitting around here won't -"

"I don't care." The anger and grief in his son's voice felt all too familiar. Adrien stayed at the bedside, holding her hand. "I'm not leaving her. Not again."

"Adrien..."

"Dude," his less than savory friend stared, his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, "if you don't leave on your own, security's gonna pull you out of here. And you'll be blacklisted. Believe me, you don't want that."

The teen hesitated, then rested his head on their hands. "I… just a few more minutes. I can't just -"

"I will ensure he makes it home." His son's friends looked back to where the fashion expert was waiting the entire time. Shortly after the doctors collected the Dupain-Chengs, to tell them the damages, Gabriel snuck in as adult supervision. And to collect his son.

It may not have been his akuma, but in a way, this was still his doing. Why hadn't he been more vigilant?

Nino and Alya both nodded, worry and dried tears covering their faces. The boy gave Adrien's shoulder a squeeze before the girl gave him an awkward hug, both trying to support him. Odd how he was the most distraught when until that day, his son only thought of this girl as a friend.

Now, injured, Adrien refused to leave Marinette's side.

The blow to her head and the damage done by the akuma to her body was rather severe, but something Ladybug should have healed instantly.

She didn't. The hero never appeared at the attack.

Only Chat Noir did, and he nearly killed the victim in his rage.

Clearly, this could only mean one thing. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug, and he saw her fall at the akuma's feet.

And if Adrien didn't leave the room, Chat Noir would never be able to see her after hours to reassure himself of her survival.

Well, current survival. Such a pity, really. Adrien's friend would likely never be the same if she awoke, and never save a soul again. She showed promise as a designer too. And her effect on his son…

Still, the opportunity was too good to ignore.

Shortly after the friends left, Gabriel came closer to his child. The steady beeping of the monitors was almost a pleasant lullaby to the mind, but it couldn't stop the pain. He recognized it. If he wanted to, he could easily akumatize his son in this state, but that was a line he'd never cross. His son would not be subject to the same fate as his… friends.

The duo left the room, giving them the 'five more minutes' Adrien requested. It gave Gabriel enough time to slide to Marinette's personal things and remove the only items he ever wanted from this girl. If she just gave them over at the beginning, none of this would be necessary. Guilt from his decisions tried to rear it's head like it did hundreds of times before, but once more he squashed it.

Focus on the goal. In the end, everyone will be happy.

Everyone would be whole.

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

Gabriel slid the Ladybug earrings into his pocket before eyeing his son once again. Adrien didn't move a muscle; he just held his 'friend's' hand and watched her face for any change. Yes, it would be too easy to akumatize his son in that moment. But he would lose him then as well.

Perhaps there was a way to gain an ally at this moment instead of a tool.

"This never should have happened."

His son didn't answer verbally, but shrank further towards the girl, his thoughts already spoken aloud. No. This should never have happened. Hawkmoth had a line. The other akuma making villain did not.

"Heroes truly cannot be everywhere," he continued, telling a truth he knew all too well. It was a pain he carried a long time. "They are, after all, flawed humans underneath their masks. As skilled and prepared as they are, Ladybug and Chat Noir are unable to protect everyone."

He heard a soft sob, nearly taking his nerve. But as a father, Gabriel had to teach his son hard lessons, for his own good. He had to see how flawed it was for a couple of teenagers to be given the powers of creation and destruction. To give anyone those powers. Course Hawkmoth's actions forced the Miraculous out into the open, but he hoped no lives would be lost if he controlled the akumas well enough.

This wasn't his akuma.

And now lives could be lost.

"I should have been there for her." Adrien's voice was thick with sorrow. "I should have… I promised I'd… Marinette… I'm so sorry… I'm so -"

He couldn't finish the thought and just kept on crying. Gabriel's heart stung watching him. His half-baked plan to take advantage of the situation turned sour in his mouth, urging him to vomit. But no. No, he could not be weak. Not for a moment. He took one breath in to stop the guilt and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Support. He could do that. Adrien wouldn't take anything but that at this point.

Grief and a touch of anger came from the boy now. "Where was she… where was Ladybug? Why didn't she..."

More sobbing.

He was starting to get it.

Gabriel took in another breath. "They are only human, Adrien. Their powers can only do so much for either of them. Do not blame them for being late, or not appearing. They did the best they could."

"I should have been there!" Self-loathing. For each of them. "I should have -"

"Then it would be you in the bed and Marinette bawling at your side!" And himself. Gabriel would not lose his son, no matter the cost. The Dupain-Chengs have each other to grieve with. Gabriel would be completely alone. He could hardly stand a day without his beloved wife. Take away his son as well and all hope was lost. "Never wish for that Adrien. No matter what happens. Do not put yourself in her place."

Adrien deflated, a new kind of guilt coming to him. He rubbed his cheek against her hand, likely hoping it'd wake her. Such a strange tactic, but understandable. As he recalled, his son was rather tactile as a child. Only time and learning manners changed that. Adrien truly did care for Marinette to forget his lessons. Care enough to help his father's goals.

"There may be a way to help her now. To undo what's happened."

His son stiffened for a second before jerking around and gaping at him, surprised and wanting. A way to undo everything. It was a risk, but one Gabriel was willing to take. His son should never be in mourning, and this was the second time. "What?"

"It's a risk," he acknowledged, "but the best chance we have to help Marinette. And even return your mother."

His son's eyes widened further, desperate and willing to do whatever it took. Salvation was at their door. He just needed to put it together. "What is it? What do I have to do? Father, please! Tell me how to save them!"

Gabriel took a breath. No going back now, or ever. "I need Chat Noir's miraculous. The ring on his hand and the source of his powers."

Instantly the blood seemed to drain from his son's face, and devastation came to him. "What?"

Part of him wanted to know what changed his expression meant, but he had to continue. "It has the ability to change the outcome of events in our favor. I only need to use it once, then he can have it back."

Adrien slowly looked down, his expression increasingly troubled as he turned away from him and towards the unconscious injured girl. It was quite a bit to think about, so Gabriel let his attention slide. "You have a higher chance of getting his attention than I do. I've done everything in my power to get close to him, but he's always too quick to convince him to help."

"Everything in your power..." There was bitterness and sorrow in the boy's voice as he clutched Marinette's hand again. "All this time… you..."

"I did not wish to get your hopes up if I failed," he tried to reason. Why did it feel like he was losing? Hawkmoth failed each time. The heroes were a little too good at their jobs. "But there hasn't been a day I haven't tried to bring your mother home. With the Miraculous, I can save -"

Without warning, Adrien ripped off the ring on his finger and threw it blindly at him. "Just take it!"

Gabriel caught the ring instinctively, stunned by his son's actions. Just take it? Adrien sobbed and yelled at the same time, never looking at him. "That's all you want! A stupid cat ring! Take it and go! I don't care anymore! I just..."

Sobs took over his son's body, shaking from the thoughts and revelations he received. Gabriel watched him dumbly for a moment before opening his hand and seeing the ring clearly and completely for the first time. He suspected it once or twice before, but now he knew.

"Can't do this anymore..."

Adrien was Chat Noir.

All the self-loathing and guilt he suppressed these past years threatened to choke Gabriel as everything fell into place. His son was Chat Noir. He loved Ladybug. Marinette fell to an akuma. She was Ladybug. It didn't matter if this one was his or not. Everyone blamed Hawkmoth. Only Hawkmoth knew what the Miraculous could do together. Gabriel Agreste asked his son for the Miraculous to change things.

All the secrets were out.

And it only destroyed them.

"Adrien -"

"Just leave."

His shuttering reply tore his shattered heart. He did this. No one else. He destroyed his son.

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

Gabriel just stared in silence at his boy, unable to look away at the destruction he caused. Turning his son into an akuma would have been a kinder fate. Unable to move or speak for at least a minute, it took all his strength to move even an inch. Walking to the door while his son sobbed over the love of his life drained him of nearly everything. A shadow. No, a heavy darkness. That's all he was compared to the man he once was. Adrien did not deserve a father like him.

Opening the door, he looked back. His son wouldn't even look towards the light from outside. The image burned itself into his brain, grieving the villain more than anything he could have done.

"I swear, I will do everything in my power to make this right. You have my word."

No response.

So Gabriel closed the door.

* * *

A/N: Yeah a lot of one line paragraphs here, and that's a little annoying, but the next chapter (mostly written) makes up with a lot of inner dialog.

So who else believes Gabriel isn't evil and is just severely misguided? Show of hands? Oh, look at the masses of people! When it all hits the fan, we know Adrien will be devastated, Gabriel may lose his nerve, and Ladybug will not be able to really save the day. So I'm playing with leaks for some parts and fan theories for the rest. Here, LB and CN have been around for over a year and in their mid-teens, so a little into the future. Keep in mind I'm waiting for S2Ep17 to come out right now. We know all their goals by now (and if you don't and was surprised by the reveal at the beginning of this season, I seriously wonder about you) so I'm just building on that. Do I think Adrien would just give up his miraculous like that? Not really, but considering everything hitting him in that moment, he was either going to break down in desperation or blow up in a rage, so a little bit of both seemed right here.

Honestly, with Adrien and Gabriel's relationship, I'm not sure how to handle one scene near the end of the story. I may make a poll asking for your opinion then, but not quite yet.

Anywho, expect an update at least once a week, provided people comment. If I lose motivation, I'll move on to a more entertaining idea. Also, if someone has a better cover page idea for this, please tell me via deviantart (same name as here). Until next time!


	2. 2 – Parents of an Angry Teen

Honestly wasn't planning on posting another chapter for a while, but I typed up 25+ pages today so here you go!

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 **2 – Parents of an Angry Teen**

Emilie Agreste just did not understand it. Was this what it meant to be the mother of a teenager? Adrien only turned thirteen a month ago, but it did not explain why he suddenly didn't want to even look at his father. Stopped calling him 'Papi' too. Gabriel was trying to command more respect from his son for the past few years, true, but completely doing a 180 like this was not something she expected.

"Gabriel," she started during lunch, eyeing her busy husband. Now his behavior was off too, but in a different way. More of a left-hand turn than going the opposite direction. Ever since he woke up that morning, he was either overly affectionate and responsive to her, controlling himself in front of their son, or rapidly writing notes into a notebook. She didn't mind the affection frankly – rather enjoyable and made her wonder if he was agreeing to her idea of a second child at long last – and his restraint around his son was a growing concern, but the notebook instead of a sketchbook was very weird. What use did a designer have for only writing his thoughts instead of drawing them? And unless he handed them to Nathalie, she sincerely doubted it had anything to do with work.

Her husband jerked up at her voice, his attention barely snapped from the pages he was working on. What was he writing anyway? "Yes darling?"

"Did you do something to Adrien?"

He stopped, hesitating for some reason, and looked away, conflicted. Emilie did not like the look on his face. What did Gabriel do? Letting out a breath, he put down his pen and ran his hands through his hair, exhausted already. "Not exactly."

"What happened?" It was more of an order than a question, but she knew there was only one way to get through to her stubborn husband: be direct, blunt, and spare no one. He wore down eventually, especially if it was her asking.

Usually.

He pursed his lips closed, thinking over his answer. This worried her more now than before. What was Gabriel hiding? He only hid his designs and plans to make their lives better. The remodeling plans for Adrien's room, giving him everything a teenaged boy would want, were hidden behind that look once. So was how he proposed to her. It usually led to good things, but Adrien was angry and wouldn't stay in the same room as his papi. There was no way this was good.

"Gabriel -"

"Technically nothing." He looked forward, not at her but intently into the future. Emilie knew that look too. These were serious thoughts on the road to change the world if he could. Every detail had to be covered before he would go forward and share them. "And if all goes according to plan, nothing will."

"What are you talking about?" Plan. So he was planning something. Something Adrien didn't approve of? "What plan? And why is Adrien mad at you?"

The intensity of his eyes wavered to grief, remembering something painful. He leaned back into his chair, letting out a long breath. She knew this look too. Oh for the love of chocolate, did he have to take on so much? Stubborn Gabriel. He finally looked back to her, somewhat pleading. "Please give me a few days. I swear, I am doing everything I can to make things right. I will tell you everything soon enough, my darling."

For what it was worth, Emilie believed him. Clumsy though he was in love, Gabriel never broke his word. Not to her, and not to Adrien. He would sacrifice anything and everything to protect what they had.

But that did not resolve the angry teenager problem.

"So what are you going to do about our son?" Fine. If he wouldn't tell her what was going on, he'd at least take responsibility for… whatever was going on. Adrien was mad at his father. What over, who knew. Well, Gabriel knew, but he wasn't talking. Was this a man to man thing?

Oh dear. Was this a hormone thing? Not for the first time, Emilie wished Adrien was a girl so she could handle every problem her baby had. This better not be something normal with teenaged boys or she was screwed.

Gabriel took another slow breath, choosing his words. "I'll… I'll talk to him, but I doubt it'll do much good. Teenaged boys tend to become… unpredictable."

Oh crap. She called it. Blushing slightly, Emilie went back to her meal. "And I thought girls were the only ones with mood swings."

Her husband chuckled. "We're lucky Adrien's mostly level-headed. He won't cause too much trouble."

He picked up his pen to continue working, stopped, and put it back down. Emilie tried not to notice his eyes on her, both far off and soaking her in. Why was he looking at her like that? Well, whatever the reason, he took her free hand in his and gave her a small squeeze. What was with his behavior? "Is something the matter?"

For a moment he said nothing, then raised their hands to his lips, pressing them against her wedding band. Clumsy in love, but he knew how to sweep her off her feet. Well, she may have more than she expected for lunch.

"I'm taking the next few days off from work," he said after a few heart pounding seconds. "I want to spend as much time with you as I can during that time, but I also have a project to do. A promise to fulfill. Would you mind clearing your schedule, my dear?"

Okay, now his behavior was taking an even wider left turn. Wow. Not going to work? Despite the ever-growing and changing fashion world? Keeping on top was brutal, and he wanted to fall behind? And he wanted her to play hooky with him? What about their son? Was he so intent on giving him a sibling he'd ignore the angsty teen for a few days to make one? Oh there were so many red flags in his behavior, but not one of them was something she didn't want in the past.

"Well…" She coyly looked to the side, thinking of her plans. Most could be rearranged, no problem, but saying yes automatically wouldn't be any fun.

Besides, she promised Duusu a trip to their favorite chocolate shop. Bird had quite the sweet tooth. "I think I can squeeze you in. But you absolutely have to talk to Adrien first. And get that project done. You do that first, and I'll take care of the rest."

For some reason he hesitated, some sadness flashing across his face, before he nodded and rested his head on their hands. "You take on too much Emilie."

She winked playfully at him. "What part-time superhero wouldn't?"

* * *

" _It doesn't matter what you wish, do or say now mister! You broke your son's heart! And that's going to carry on whether you like it or not!"_

The kwami's words remained with him, along with the guilt. Gabriel clutched his lapel, trying to gain some of the strength he needed to do what was necessary. He didn't have a lot of time, so he had to make every second count. Nothing started yet, so there may be a way for his young and forgiving son to begin healing before things turned south.

He took a breath before knocking on his son's door. "Adrien? May I come in?"

No response, and he didn't want to cross yet another line, so he let out a long breath. "Then I will speak from here. And pray you will listen to me.

"I know you're angry, and in all honesty, you have every right to be. You may not understand why, or know what happened, but I know… and I accept your disapproval. I've been a poor excuse of a father of late, focused more on a goal than on what was important, but I have started on a path I cannot leave, and could not for a long time. I believed, and still believe, that the end result will make you happier than anything possibly could. So I am willing to pay any price. Any price but you."

Gabriel stopped momentarily and swallowed. His plan better work, or all of this was for naught.

"Always remember… I love you very much and would throw the entire world away to see you smile once again. Nothing… that I've done or will do… no event… none of this is your fault. You can blame me until my dying day, but never blame yourself. I accept the consequences of my actions, even your wrath.

"Just don't let your anger control your future. Stay by your mother's side, make friends, laugh, find love, be kind and forgive those around you. Be you, Adrien. Don't be swallowed up in anger and regret. My choices are my own. Make the best choices for you and your life.

"I love you son. Never forget that."

His heart clenched as he finished. It was everything that needed saying, and hopefully it would keep Adrien on the right path, but it only brought the future into clearer view. The image of Adrien's back to him, crouched over his 'friend's' body, would likely never leave his mind. And if the pattern kept up, that was likely the last time he'd see his son clearly for a long time.

Gabriel let out a long breath, trying to ease the pain in his chest as he left his son's door. If he could see through it, he would have seen an emotionally confused teenager staring at it. It may have brought them back together, changed the world in a different way, but the man was determined to continue down his path, and couldn't spare another second.

* * *

A/N: Care to guess what happened? B3 I had a lot of fun writing today and Emilie was fun to create from near scratch. We know so little about her, but if Adrien's anything like her, I think she'd be like this. yes that's her name, I looked it up on the wiki.

Writing Gabriel's talk with Adrien's door actually made me tear up. He's got a lot of explaining to do, but at the same time, he can't. So much fun!

If I talk more now, I'll be leaking spoilers. I'm working on the 7th chapter right now. Well, until the next one!


	3. 3 – An Old Friend

Did I post chapter 2 too soon? So few comments... T-T Anywho, I need motivation to keep going and rewriting parts of the canon. If you can tell me what you think Gabriel's plan/wish was, I will confirm it. Anywho, enjoy!

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 **3 – An Old Friend**

Gabriel sighed and finally relaxed into his chair. The last letter was signed and all the necessary calls were made. Only one last task to do before everything either fell apart or his plan changed everything forever. Hopefully, the ones necessary for that task would be cooperative. They weren't so pleased with him to begin with, so this was still a gamble.

"Nooroo, Tikki, Plagg," he spoke into his lapel, "come out. We need to talk."

* * *

Emilie still couldn't get it. Gabriel, Adrien, everything was still a mess, and yet not. Adrien was still angry at his father for some reason, but seemed more troubled by it than angry when they talked. Gabriel said he was done with his project at long last early that morning after a walk before she woke up. It wasn't strange waking up to an empty bed, but it was odd for her husband to not be working and instead bringing her breakfast in bed.

Seriously, did he read one of her diaries and find the list of things she wished he did for her once in a while? Gabriel was being very romantic with her of late, and… well… she'd have to check with a doctor later to see about some small details because of him. She didn't hate a second of it, but it was still odd to even consider. Taking off work, being with her as often as he could… He must really want a second child too. Maybe a new sibling would help Adrien out of his funk?

All the same, Emilie prepared her bag as usual, adding a clip with a peacock on it to her ensemble. Instantly a good friend appeared. "Good morning Emilie!"

"Hello Dusuu." The blue kwami flew around her gleefully, brushing her head with his tail feathers. Emilie giggled like she did as a child. The two of them were friends for a long time. "Enjoy your nap?"

"It was fine," he chirped before nuzzling her face. "But I miss you more. Why don't you wear the clip more often? I wanna see you more!"

"You know why." She smiled sadly but did not regret it. Adrien was rather grabby as an infant and the clip was an easy target. Emilie tried to place it in a lot of locations to keep it on, but somehow he always found it, and tried to eat it. Dusuu used to be a distraction as well when he was little, an imaginary friend, but it wouldn't last forever. When he started talking, he started blabbing. Dusuu was a secret. Gabriel knew about him, but being an adult and not a babbling kid, he could keep his mouth shut. Until the day Adrien could keep a secret, he was not supposed to know Dusuu was real.

Problem was, it was hard to know when your kid could really keep a secret.

There was another reason Emilie only took out Dusuu once or twice a week for a chocolate run, but that reason was in another room, hidden from even Gabriel's eyes. She didn't want to worry him with the details of her other life as Pavlin, especially since not even the news knew what she was doing. It'd only worry him and make him more determined to find a Miraculous of his own and join her in the field. As charming as her husband was, there was no need for Paris to have two heroes running around. There was barely a need for Pavlin these days.

Barely. She had some unfinished business to do, and people needed saving still, but for the most part, Paris could take care of itself. The police still needed jobs after all, and if people became too dependent on a hero, what would they do if the hero fell? No, it was best if Pavlin remained a part-timer who specialized in unraveling mysteries. After all, she was better at understanding a soul more than fighting.

Still, Dusuu whined. "Come on! I'm certain Adrien can keep a secret now! And if you keep it in your coat, no one will even see it! Not like I'm Plagg or Tikki or Trix or -"

"How many of you are there again?" Emilie was doing some research on the Miraculous herself, finding a book to help Gabriel on his search and browsing through it herself not that long ago. She still didn't quite know what kwami were, and she's had Dusuu since she was ten! Her world-traveling father sent the clip to her when he was in Tibet, and her life was never the same.

Dusuu grinned. "As many as Life demands. Tikki and Plagg though are the big ones. They have to be together and separate in order for things to go smoothly. The rest of us are more like fun perks."

"Meaning no one's looking for you but me."

The jab made the bird tear up a little, getting Emilie to laugh. "Just teasing you, Bluie! Don't worry, I'm certain the others are worried about you too. You'll see your friends again one day.

"C'mon," she jerked her head towards the door, "let's get some chocolates."

At this Dusuu cheered and flew into her purse. His singing about chocolate fruit made her giggle. How she missed her dear friend. Ready to look like a crazy woman in search of chocolate goodies once again, Emilie headed out of her room and towards her husband's office to use the secret route out.

She did not expect to see him in there, waiting for her. "Gabriel! I thought you were going to finish up your 'secret project'."

He chuckled fondly. "I finished my phone call a little bit ago. I was hoping you'd let me join you on your 'chocolate run'."

Emilie blushed slightly, her thoughts going in a completely different direction than chocolate. "I'm afraid I can't be distracted Gabriel. Not when it comes to this. I need some 'me time' after all."

"I don't intend to distract you my dear." He seemed rather earnest, almost ready to beg. What was going on with her husband? "I just wish to come with you."

"Gabriel -"

"Please." His gaze felt heavy, stopping her thoughts. "This will be my last selfish request for the rest of the year. Let me join you and Dusuu this time."

In the back of Emilie's head, she knew something was horribly wrong. Gabriel did not make selfish requests. He gave her as much space as she wanted, sometimes too much space. The past few days he upped the attention and affection by a hundred, making her believe he wanted a baby just as much as he wanted her. Now, she wasn't so certain.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Part of her wanted to reject his plea, dreading the reason behind it. Another part wanted to see where this was going. This was likely the only chance she'd get to close this mystery.

Her husband looked down for a moment and nodded. "When we come home from the run, yes. I will tell you everything."

"Promise?"

He smiled knowingly, looking her straight into her eyes. "Have I ever broken a promise to you, Emilie?"

She wanted to stop and think about it, find some flaw in his statements, find some reason to keep him home, but couldn't think of any. Adrien was with his tutors and would be watched over by Nathalie so he wasn't a good excuse to keep Gabriel home. The staff was self-sufficient so no one had to watch over them. Gabriel took time off of work for them, so the fashion world wasn't calling him either. It was just a feeling something was off that made her want to say no.

Instead she shrugged. "Oh fine. If you insist on walking a mile underground and then taking the metro a few miles and walking up a winding hill for half an hour just for the best chocolate covered fruits in Paris, come along. Are those shoes comfortable?"

Gabriel smiled, relieved. "Comfortable, waterproof, well ventilated, and classy. The height of fashion and practicality."

"How do you manage it?" The teasing flirting started once again as they approached the mock 'lady on gold' painting they commissioned as a joke. No one would suspect a secret passage entrance behind the gaudy thing. Too James Bond. Gabriel pressed the panels perfectly, opening the doorway to their path.

He chuckled. "I have my ways."

* * *

A/N: Had to look up Dusuu's name to get the peacock kwami right. Made him male too since it's the males that are blue and flashy (and cocks. their females are hens) and in my mind, Nooroo's a chick but that's not important. It's well speculated by now that Emilie owned the peacock miraculous, and therefore Dusuu, so the real question is what the powers would be like and what she'd look like transformed. I kinda like the look from one comic where she meets student Gabriel, but she didn't have a name there. I named her superhero identity Mayura simply because I looked up names meaning peacock and that one was easy to spell and looked pretty. :P Originally I was going to call her Lyrebird, but then I looked them up and it was a different breed of bird entirely. Oh well. Also read somewhere that Dusuu was over the 'soul', making him pretty emotional, but that's neither here nor there. Still haven't figured out his user's powers. When Le Paon appears, we'll all be editing our headcanons.

And no, I don't think Emilie is Le Paon. Adrien can't be that unlucky.

Also made the miraculous a clip, which can go on her bag, on her clothes, or in her hair so it's a rather versatile accessory compared to the others. Babies tend to grab and chew on everything shiny mommy wears so it'd make sense for her to keep the clip off or hidden when Adrien was little, and then to hide Dusuu away when his memory became better and he started talking nonstop. Dusuu is Adrien's imaginary friend in my headcanon, which is why he was way cooler with meeting Plagg than Marinette was. In the back of his mind, he knew about Kwamis! And the whole thing about kids and secrets, I was a blabbermouth when I was little and basically had to be scared in to keeping secrets as I grew older. Adrien seems like a young blabbermouth and shared everything with at least his mother and whomever he got a chance to interact with. So until he can keep a secret... B3 I'm having fun. And gave Dusuu a chocolate covered fruit/nut addiction as his thing.

Last side note with Dusuu, I had to look up his name again because I kept thinking he was Dekuu. Just a little trivia.

SO anyone guess what Gabriel's doing now? if you think you know, tell me! I love theories. I'll post again once I've made it past one part on my own, but I really do love comments. So... yeah. Laters!

 **EDIT** : after posting this, It came to my attention, via an anonymous user *grumbles about pickiness*, that Mayura's actually going to be the official name for Le Paon in the American version (at the least) and it could be found on her wiki. I'll note I used the wiki for Dusuu. Be glad I didn't name him Dekuu. So Emilie's new superhero name is **Pavlin**. So anyone who thinks there's a mess up, or change or is confused from the past 24 hrs, sorry, it's all because I found a name I liked on my own, not realizing it was the official name. Go fig. Mayura was a good name too. Ah well. Le Paon will still make an appearance, but not as Mayura in here. So everyone, enjoy Emilie's new hero name, Pavlin!

Yes it's Russian. Means beautiful peacock and can be confused for their female version of Paul. Plus kinda similar to Pavlov. Gabriel can't resist her call. XD


	4. 4 – A Change in Direction

As a little side note, if you read the previous chapter today/last night, you will see a change now. Uh, funny story I guess. When I said I checked the wiki for certain details, Le Paon spoilers were not among the checking, so I had no idea her currently intended name will be Mayura. I picked it after looking through a lot of baby names meaning peacock so it was a total coincidence. And i like Japanese sounding names in general. *shrug* SO... I changed Emilie's hero name. It's Pavlin now. Changed it in the other chapter too. If you're new to the game and got confused by the A/N, sorry.

Anywho, enjoy the chapter! Things are gonna change big time now. Heh heh... time...

* * *

 **4 – A Change in Direction**

The hardest part about being a famous or rich person in Paris was getting the privacy you needed to do the things you wanted to. Emilie wasn't so much in the limelight as her husband, but her face was all over the place every now and again when she modeled. She personally preferred her part-time superheroing or regular humanitarian work, but modeling to help her husband out wasn't that bad. The only reason Gabriel's face wasn't everywhere, just his name, was his reclusive behavior. Few fashion designers had their face everywhere, just their work.

So even though they went out with bodyguards once in a while, they had only a little trouble going through the city without being noticed. A small handful of people recognized them, asking for autographs, but for the most part, people left them alone. Leaving them plenty of time to talk about causal things.

It felt like a date. A normal date.

Heavens it'd been a long time since they had a normal date.

Emilie laughed at her winded date tried to catch up to her on the hill. "I warned you it was quite a climb!"

"How… how did you… even… find this place?" Gabriel looked around the mostly deserted area, noting how few people lived there. It really was like a cottage in the woods, if it weren't for the houses dotting the area. How did places like this manage to survive in Paris?

His wife shrugged, getting a giggle from Dusuu. "There's this little thing called 'Google'. And another thing called 'Yelp'. You should try using them some time."

"There has to… be an easier… way to… get there..." He finally caught up to her and bent over to catch his breath. Emilie giggled. It was so much fun push him like this.

"Oh there is," she chimed. "Several. But they aren't as much fun."

That earned her a glare, and she fell into gales of laughter. "Well one is, but I don't think they're open at night."

"Are you telling me… you picked this path… for kicks?"

"I don't get out that often." She winked playfully at him before pointing in one direction. "It's just past that house. We can take a bus back down to the metro to go home, unless you're strong enough to go down hill."

He actually let out a chuckle. "For you, I'd carry you to the bottom."

That made her laugh a little more. Maybe her earlier premonition was wrong. Though she wanted to know why he acted so oddly of late, she rather enjoyed dragging on their date. "I may take you up on that."

She took his hand and pulled him towards the shop, giddy as a school girl. Fleurs de Fruits au Chocolat was a small shop, but specialized in beautiful chocolate covered fruits shaped as flowers. Dusuu loved each one he ate and Emilie loved to try different varieties. It wasn't as great as the chocolate covered nuts her grandmother used to make, but nothing can compare to memories. These were still good though and she wanted to share them.

The two of them quickly made their selections, with Dusuu constantly piping in his preferences for his share, then left the shop to go back down the hill. There was a small secluded area near the path with a bench, perfect for them to make a picnic out of it. Dusuu dramatically gasped for air the second they were there. "AIR! BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL AIR!"

"Oh stop tweeting," Emilie joked, taking their spoils out for consumption. Gabriel just took a few strawberries for himself and she a selection of small fruits, so the bulk of it was for the kwami. "You being so eggcited is making me peckish."

"Is he ruffling your feathers dear?" Gabriel kept it going, a game they played ever since he learned her identity years ago. "I could pluck him from the sky and nest-le him down if you'd like."

"Not nest-isary. He can fly free for a bit longer." She waved it off as nothing, but a flash of something crossed his face before it was gone. Maybe now was a good time to ask. "So… want to tell me what's bothering you? You seem more out of sorts than Dusuu in a bag."

Her husband hesitated, the playfulness leaving him slowly. He opened his mouth to talk, but Dusuu darted between them, into the shopping bag. "APPLES! LOVELY CHOCOLATELY APPLES!"

"I think there's oranges there as well," Gabriel chimed in, likely thankful for the interruption. He got up and looked around awkwardly, starting to look tense again. The old Gabriel. The one anticipating something coming. Usually this was his state during a fashion show.

What was going on?

From the shopping bag, Emilie heard a 'pst!'. She looked inside to her oldest friend and saw a look she never thought she'd see: thoughtful sadness. Dusuu overreacted all the time, but this time… why did he look so sad but also smile? "Emmi? Please don't be mad at him. I agreed to this. He just wants to protect you."

Dread grew in her stomach. "Protect… Gabriel, Dusuu. What's going o-"

 _VOOSH_

Wind cycloned around them, nearly blowing away the bag holding her kwami. Instantly her hero instincts kicked in, grabbing the bag and ready to transform in case this was what she thought it was. How did they find them? Wait. Did Gabriel -

"Well well well!" A sickening voice filled her ears, ready to take her away and destroy her very soul. "Outside of your pretty cage, aren't we Pavlin? Should have known better than to -"

Gabriel threw his strawberries at a solid point in the cyclone, weakening the wind briefly. Emilie in turn took the clip off of her jacket and into her hair. Looked like her secret was out, and her husband was ready to fight as well, in his own way. If he had a Miraculous too, it would be an easy fight. "Dusuu. Feathers -"

The wind struck her in the gut, cutting off her transformation before she could start. Another blow struck her back, forcing her to the ground. She could hear her name over the roaring winds, getting her to focus enough to roll out from the next attack. There was no way she was going to let this apparition defeat her.

Without warning, her husband wrapped his arms around her. "Stop! This isn't a battle you can win!"

"It's not giving me a choice!" What was with him?! He knew she would fight, no matter what the cost. So why was he holding her back. The winds didn't let up either, taunting them with a few smacks here and there. "Let go!"

"Never."

He gave her a tight hug and a kiss on her cheek, the last warning she needed before everything went wrong.

The second his lips left her, his hand pulled the peacock miraculous out of her hair. "Gabriel -"

"You can't protect it," he stated calmly, "and neither can I. Take it!"

In a flash, Gabriel Agreste betrayed Pavlin, his wife, the hidden hero of Paris, to her enemies, simply by throwing a hair-clip into a sentient cyclone.

And the cyclone was confused. "What is this?"

"The source of Pavlin's powers!" Emilie just stared at her husband, devastated by his actions. Was this his plan this entire time? Betraying her like this? How could he…

"She entrusted it to us while out of the country!"

...What?

"Emilie's just her body double! She's not a hero, just a fan! We don't even understand what it is!"

The determination in his face as he lied to the wind stunned Emilie so much she couldn't way a word. ' _Please don't be mad at him. … He just wants to protect you._ ' Is this what Dusuu was talking about? But… how did he know?

The wind thing also seemed to hesitate, cupping the Miraculous in the air somehow. "You would betray Pavlin? So easily?"

"A hero left civilians with a power they couldn't use! What kind of hero is she?"

That one stung, but it certainly left an effect on the wind thing. It laughed. Cackled and creaked really. "You would have made a good puppet, Gabriel Agreste! Pavlin's face when she realizes she's powerless… I wish I could see it!"

And it left, cackling the entire way.

They watched it disappear into the ether, the wind dying around them, leaving them in silence. Finally, Gabriel let out a long breath, relaxing his hold on his wife. "I'm sorry Emilie, but it was the only way."

Instantly her shock turned to anger, making her slap the man's face as hard as she could. "How could you! You gave him Dusuu! You just gave him -"

"It was Dusuu or you!" He matched her glare, resolved in his actions. "I wasn't about to lose you a second time! And with the price, I couldn't use Nooroo before it was over!"

"What are you talking about?" Nooroo? Who was Nooroo? Her or Dusuu? A second time? Price? "Gabriel! What is going on? Why did you give Dusuu to the faction? You know they'll -"

"Believe me, I know! Better than you do!" He put a hand to his head and winced, trying to stay upright. "Your secret was out and I was there puppet, but thought I had the upper hand when I found Dusuu before they did, but even my safe wasn't safe! They still got him and Le Paon started attacking and somehow targeted Ladybug in civilian form and Adrien would never forgive me if I failed. I couldn't fail and -"

"What are you even talking a-"

Without anymore warning, Gabriel fell to the ground, hands clutching his head in pain. Panic overtook Emilie's anger and she fell to her husband's side. "Gabriel!"

"I… I don't have much time..." He looked up to her, desperate and breathing hard. "I only wished for enough time to set it in motion. To change one event and prevent another…

"Emilie… my heart and soul..." He reached up to her face, pain contorting his as he tried to give his last words. "I leave it all to you. Don't fall into the same trap I did. Nooroo… She'll explain everything. The… the instructions are in the safe."

"Who's Nooroo? Gabriel! What's wrong! What's going on!" Tears threatened to pour out as she tried to keep her wits about her. It didn't matter if he just gave up her best friend. Her heart was being ripped out her chest!

He smiled sadly. "It's the price. My price, for turning back time."

"Turning back -"

"I love you Emilie," he whispered, his eyes closing as he succumbed to the pain. "Always."

"Gabriel!"

"See you in..."

"GABRIEL!"

Nothing.

Emilie called out his name over and over again, crying for him to open his eyes, to return to her. To do something! Anything! He could betray her over and over again, so long as he came back to her! "Gabriel… Please! Wake up..."

"He will," a small voice promised, "in two years, three months, and seventeen days."

Her heart stopped. Where did this voice come from? Slowly she looked up to the source and saw a purple butterfly kwami. It's gentle smile seemed at peace despite her despair. "Hello Mrs. Agreste. I am Nooroo."

* * *

A/N: Can you guess what happened now? B3

So I have very little clue what to do with the villains behind the villain at the moment, so I'm open to suggestions. The cyclone monster thing is not an akuma made by Gabriel, but part of 'The Faction', which is out for world domination in different forms. Who or what they are, I don't know yet. So give me ideas for a maybe sequel with them. that, or I'll just leave them hanging in the background after the story here's over.

As for the transformation words, I'm kinda in the air for that. 'Feathers spread' was probably what I was going for (like how peacock feathers spread out to make themselves look bigger adn scarier to predators), but it kinda sounds dumb. any better ideas? tell me.

I'm not going to post again for a bit. I want to get further into the timeline before another chapter at least. Still working on chapter 7. It's a longer one. XP Until next time!


	5. 5 – The Price

Note to self: don't post twice within 24 hrs. People won't see the second posting until you do another several days later.

Anywho, things are about to be explained. Or in part explained. Bit disjointed. As an FYI, I'm putting a poll up in a bit with an important question for this story, so please answer it. It'll be a long time until the event in question, but I need to make my decision eventually. Another side note, if you want to laugh at my Miraculous work, and art, check out my DA page! I have three comics there, not quite on these lines but with the same characters and world. One's a reveal, another a crack comic, and the third is just another take on one episode. Adrien drops the best one-liners. XD

Enough rambling! Enjoy the story! Still working on chapter 7. Ah well. I want comments!

* * *

 **5 – The Price**

"We honestly don't know," the doctor informed her as calmly as he could. "We will have to do a series of tests before we can even guess what's going on. We can say his vitals are strong and his brain activity is normal, but there's little more we can do other than put him on life support at the moment, Mrs. Agreste."

"I see." Emilie looked down to her hands, the same hands holding the butterfly miraculous. She had to remove it from her husband during the medical tests, to keep it safe, but more than that, she needed answers, and that little butterfly had all of them. She already lost one Miraculous today. She wasn't about to lose her husband's. Or him.

The doctor put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll keep him under observation tonight, see if he wakes up on his own. If anything changes, we will call you."

"Thank you doctor."

A nearby nurse came to her side and started guiding the subdued woman to where her son and her husband's assistant were waiting. So many thoughts rang through her head, and yet there was a strange calm coming over her. It was something Gabriel was better at handling, yet she became proficient after years of working as Pavlin. She had to be calm and stable in a crisis. Especially for her son.

She could break down again later in her bedroom, and get all the answers she wanted from that butterfly then.

"Mami!"

Her thoughts, or lack there of, flew out the window when her sobbing teenaged son flew into her arms. Somehow she managed to hold onto him and the butterfly broach, gaining some strength while losing a portion of it. "Shhh… it's okay Chaton. It's going to be okay."

"I… I didn't even… I don't get it! Why! Why's Papi… why did he..." He sobbed more and more. "I don't even know why I was so mad at him!"

' _... and Adrien would never forgive me if I failed!_ '

Her husband's words echoed in her mind. What else had he said? There was so much he wanted to say, but she was so angry about Dusuu, she didn't really let him talk. There was so much left unsaid. So much not explained. Oh Gabriel, what was she supposed to do now?

"It's okay," she crooned in her chick's ear. "He wasn't upset with you. He understood."

"But I didn't even -"

"Papi will wake up and be happy to hear your voice again." Emilie slid him a way enough to look him in the eye and smile. "All he ever wanted was for you to be happy Adrien. The best thing we can do right now is forgive ourselves and him. Keep our chins up. Papi will be home soon."

All the trust in the world gazed up to her in those darling eyes of his, and he nodded, unable to do much of anything else. She held her boy tightly once again, giving them both the comfort they needed. She looked over to Nathalie and started acting as the head of the house. It was her duty as Gabriel's wife to do everything she could while he was away, and she wasn't going to fail him. "Call the car around. Gabriel will stay here overnight for observation and testing."

"Of course ma'am." The aid brought out her phone and started making the arrangements. There was a lot to do, and who knew how much time to do it in.

* * *

Once Adrien was safely asleep in their bed, Emilie slipped out and went into her husband's office. Quickly she unlocked the safe and took everything out of it blindly before going into the secret passage, making sure no one could follow.

It really wasn't just a secret passage. It was a panic room with a connecting tunnel they originally intended to use for Pavlin's base of operations. Since Emilie pretty much quit patrols and superheroing in order to raise Adrien and keep Gabriel focused on his job, the room was a bit of a joke for the couple. Her work room used to solve mysteries upstairs was enough for her.

Now this room was the perfect place to get answers. "Alright Nooroo, start talking."

Holding the butterfly broach in her hand, Emilie called the kwami out at long last. The purple butterfly looked around the room warily before sighing. "I was hoping I'd never see this room again."

"It's the most secure room in the building," she told it quickly. "Not even Adrien or Nathalie know it's here."

"And it's best they still don't know." Nooroo inclined it's head to the large pile of papers in Emilie's hands. "I read everything while my master wrote it down. He suspects the faction has a spy in the house, and that is how they managed to steal the peacock miraculous from under him."

"Which did not happen," she shot back, "until my husband tore it from my hair and threw it at that… that thing."

"Not in this timeline, no."

This timeline. "Okay, explain."

The kwami took a breath and started talking. "Your husband used the power of the creation and destruction kwamis to go back in time far back enough to save you from the faction and prevent Ladybug from falling to Le Paon's akuma in two years, three months, and seventeen days. That will be the day he will wake up and the price is done being paid."

"The price." Emilie didn't like what that meant. "For the wish?"

Nooroo nodded. "In order for something to be created, something has to be destroyed. Matter cannot be created from nothing, it has to come from something. There must be balance in the cosmos. Gabriel Agreste was very specific in his wish to ensure the least amount of cost. He wanted to be sent back in time to change one event and then be able to change a second one.

"The price for his wish is he cannot participate in anything between the two events. Feelings from then carry over, and everyone will have a sense of deja vu for the next two years, but he would have changed enough for his wish to come true.

"Originally his wish was really brash, just demanding you to be returned to him." Nooroo looked down with a heavy heart. "But when Ladybug was hurt and your son became distraught, he knew he had to change his wish. In a way, what happened to her was a good thing. If he merely wished for your return -"

"Monkey's paw, I get it. I either come back as a monster or someone else is lost, likely our son." Emilie looked away in thought, shaking her head. Count on Gabriel to never let anyone go. Stubborn old charmer. "Was I dead in that timeline?"

"We… we didn't know." The kwami looked up briefly. "From what I read over his shoulder, you vanished and all he could find was Dusuu and the peacock miraculous. Dusuu was so torn by it all, he couldn't be used. Master assumed something had gone wrong with the Miraculous and guessed the only way to get you back was to use the earrings and ring.

"But in order to find them, he needed to make it so they were needed. It took him nearly a year, but..." A shy smile played on that purple face. "He found me in Tibet. When we came here, he made it clear he was out to make super villains only to draw out Ladybug and Chat Noir. Then he'd take their Miraculous and make his wish. His plan… kind of worked."

"Kind of?" Anger at her husband started to boil within her. He became a super villain? And made more villains? What part of this plan was supposed to make her happy? That stupid overgrown prima donna! "What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" Nooroo tapped it's hands together nervously, looking down. "It did draw out the Miraculous, but Ladybug and Chat Noir were able to defeat him every time. The only reason he was able to get them was because he pieced together their identities after Le Paon made an akuma out to kill Ladybug's civilian form.

"Master may have made super villains, but he was never out to kill people or hurt anyone. He gave the akumas creative and even silly powers, and kept tabs on them to ensure they didn't go out of control. Le Paon is much more destructive, using Dusuu's powers differently than she's supposed to. He was a general directing soldiers, while she became a destructive force."

"And he decided it was better to give up Dusuu than me..." Emilie rubbed her head, a bit overwhelmed by all of this. Part of her was relieved her husband kept his pawns under control, but she wasn't happy he had to be the bad guy to save her. And may have started the Apocalypse early. Way to go honey.

Nooroo looked up and away, nervous again. "Uh, actually, Miraculous and kwamis don't always work with certain people. Especially if the kwami's disagreeable. There was a time the cat ring was lost but no one saw his form for years. Plagg's rather picky about who uses him. Master told Dusuu what was happening and requested he show enough power to prove he was Pavlin's source, but to not work with them for as long as possible. At least as long as it took for him to find me. Just to keep the timeline as intact as possible."

"Long enough for Ladybug and Chat Noir to appear at least." After hearing those names often enough, Emilie was starting to get curious about these two. She shook her head. "And he thinks they can handle Le Paon on their own? When one of her… akumas?" Nooroo nodded. "One of her akuma's took down one of them as a civilian?"

"They're very capable."

She let out a long breath, exhausted almost to her deathbed. Today may have been her last day on Earth, but Gabriel had changed that. Now he was knocking at death's door, in a coma for the next two years or so, all because he could not ever let her go. She shook her head, trying to clear it. Fine. Fine! Her husband was truly an idiot in love. "What's an akuma anyway? Other than the Japanese word for demon."

"An akuma is a dark spirit power capable of feeding off of a person's inner darkness and giving them powers to carry out their deepest desires." She could tell by the kwami's fluttering that it didn't like this line of questioning. "Please don't make me make more of them! I'm supposed to help make an army for those in need! A supporter of others! I don't want to -"

"Hey..." Emilie put down the papers and cupped her hands around Nooroo, hoping to calm it down. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm not going to use you like that. In fact, I don't even think I'm going to use you."

"Huh?" Nooroo looked up to her tearfully, hope springing in it's eyes. "Not use? But you took -"

"That was to save you from the doctors while they did tests. And to get answers." She sighed and leaned against one of the railings. "This day… I just don't have the energy to handle it all yet. Within five minutes, my entire world was turned upside down and I've been left with a mess I don't even know I can handle. And that's not including my son. If I had allies in the old days, I'd have them take over the hunt for the faction while I worked on things here, but I get the feeling I need to be extra careful no matter what."

"The faction may be in your staff!"

The reminder only gave her a bigger headache. Firing them all now wouldn't be a good idea either. Without Dusuu's power to read other people hearts, she couldn't verify if anyone was trustworthy and could be confided in. The only person she was certain of in the entire house was Adrien, and he was only thirteen.

She needed allies.

She needed a plan!

And she needed Gabriel to wake up so she could put him into a coma personally!

"Great. Any idea where to start in all of this?"

"Ye could start by giving yer cousin a hug darling."

Emilie jerked her head around with a snap, eyes widening dangerously open as she spotted someone she hadn't seen since her wedding. "Felicia?"

* * *

A/N: Okay, I've got an OC, but considering Emilie's on her own and Fu isn't really known yet (I have an explanation for his non-involvement, don't worry) I had to give her some kind of support. I got the idea for Felicia from another fic, one created before Emilie's name came out, so she's kinda a copy of her. Yes I'm cheating. She's not really part of the story's plot, just an explanation for something later. Oh, you'll learn next time.

So the secret's out! Time travel was the wish. Just Gabriel and Nooroo. And in return, the time he had with Adrien is given to Emilie. That's going to change quite a bit, won't it? We already see her parenting techniques aren't his, and she was the one more focused on raising Adrien the way he is (main reason I'm convinced she's not going to be a bad guy), so this will be an interesting ride. But besides being Adrien's mom, making sure Gabriel's taken care of in his weakened state, and her old superheroing life, she also has to take on all of her husband's roles. So she's going to be very busy. Also means I'll have to rewrite a few episode events. Ugh... XP good thing I have the first season! This is gonna be a lot of work.

As a last note, yeah, you have to remove jewelry if you're going to be xrayed or in an MRI machine. That's why Gabriel was able to get Marinette's earrings without anyone noticing and Emilie had to get the broach fast. She called an ambulance with her cell when Gabriel collapsed too. Other than Nooroo calming her down and getting her to call one, there really wasn't a lot to fill in the time between these events.

Overall, the story's more of a collection of events in this world. A lot of the world stays the same, just with Le Paon taking Hawkmoth's place and Emilie acting differently in Gabriel's place. Can't mess too much with the timeline! Too much work. Until next time!


	6. 6 – Subterfuge

Is there an official timeline for the eps out there? I'm thinking of reordering the akumatizations because I'm unsure of how to use time in this series. Ah well. If you have any helpful ideas for what comes first/next/ect, please share. I know Origins comes first, but I'm not even sure what season school starts or birthdates or... =/ I keep looking for dates and get nothing. At this rate, I'm placing Adrien's bday in December or retconing when the story starts. All I know for certain is that the christmas special was less than a year after Emilie's disappearance. So yeah, I need help.

Anywho, enjoy the chapter! And Felicia.

* * *

 **6 – Subterfuge**

They were always careful about the secret passage. The outside led to a park, surrounded by foliage, and hidden as a gardener's shed. You needed two keys, a fingerprint, and a retinal scan to get in from the outside. Leaving was easy, but coming in, near impossible.

When did Gabriel get the time to get Felicia Vogel access to their secret passage? "What? How? When did you -"

"Yer idiot husband called me a few days ago." Felicia smirked at her knowingly, her green eyes blazing with mischief. In many ways, she was identical to Emilie. Which was probably why she had a pixie cut and a neon orange stripe in her hair, plus that dragon tattoo spiraling up her left arm. She went for the casual punk look instead of Emilie's classic lady. The two of them used to get into so much trouble growing up, but because Emilie always looked like the good girl, she got away with a great deal more. Ironically, Felicia was better behaved than she was. "Said he needed a doctor he could trust. And yeh'd need an ear who wouldn't give ye up. Called to check on my train earlier from a burner. Couldn't get an answer this afternoon, so I guess it all hit the fan?"

Emilie hesitated, then remembered he was cradling a kwami in her hands. She looked over to Nooroo, who looked back sheepishly. This… was going to be interesting. "Uh… yeah… Um… I haven't -"

"Whoa! Is that a kwami?" Not shy in the slightest, Felicia dropped the rolling bags she had on hand and excitedly came to her side. "So cool! Gabe told me about them. Yer Nooroo, right?"

"Yes..." The kwami became even shyer, if that was possible.

Her cousin grinned widely. "Awesome! Gabe said I'd be seeing a lot of yeh. He said yeh liked bread, so I brought a few strudels from home."

"R...really?"

"Yeah!" Felicia's smile was contagious and soon the kwami was smiling again. "One thing me and Gabe always had in common was keeping promises."

"And since when have you and Gabriel been besties?" They were cousins. Not even first cousins, but second cousins. From Emilie's memory, Gabriel and Felicia only met two times: once at their wedding and a second time when Adrien was born. Felicia was usually busy with her medical practice in Germany. They didn't have time or opportunity to form a relationship for anything other than 'hi/bye'.

"Since he offered me a boat load of money to quietly care for him when he started his coma. Yeh know, like he said he would. Can I hold her?" All of Felicia's attention was on Nooroo so the kwami quietly floated over to her while Emilie mentally floundered.

"Like he said he..." She rubbed her head, letting out a long breath before reaching for the pile she took from the safe. Letters to particular people stood out on top, along with that notebook he was scribbling in the past few days. The tome covering the Miraculous' history was part of it, and so was his last will and testament. She took in another breath before putting it into the book and ignoring it was there. Her husband was alive so she didn't need that.

What she needed was the damn letter addressed to her!

She tossed aside the ones meant for his company, each of them very official looking and likely typed. The one for Nathalie was placed on top of it and was fairly thin. Finally she found one for herself and another for Felicia.

There wasn't one for Adrien.

"Gabriel, you idiot..."

"Told ya."

"What did he do?" Nooroo looked over to her cautiously, clearly afraid to anger anyone. What had her husband done with his kwami all this time?

She let out a long sigh. "He didn't leave any words for his son. That idiot."

"But… I saw him write a letter."

Emilie jerked her eyes over to Nooroo. "He did?"

"Yes."

"Then where is it?" If he wrote the letter, why wasn't it with the others? Was there something important in that one no one else could read? What was supposed to go to Adrien that his mother couldn't know about?

The kwami looked around nervously. Great, she scared it again. Come to think of it, Dusuu did say Nooroo was a pushover once long ago. "I… I think he gave it to someone else to give him at the right time."

"And after his father collapses to save his mother isn't the right time?" Stupid Gabriel!

Nooroo looked down in shame. "I'm sorry. He's really stubborn and won't listen to -"

"Ease off Emmi. Just think for a minute will ya?" Felicia gave her a trademark 'you're an idiot' look as she explained what should have been obvious. "Gabe's just trying to protect ya and Adrien, right? So the less he knows before the right time, the better, right? Besides, with the rundown he gave me earlier, secrecy is key to 'saving the world', or other crap like that. Said yer kid couldn't keep a secret and to not share that I'm even here until he could."

"And how am I supposed to know when he can keep a secret?" That really was the backwards logic that kept Dusuu in storage for so long. Not helpful.

Felicia shrugged. "I think there's supposed to be more instructions in that thing over this."

"Point being?"

"Read yer stupid letter."

Emilie glared at her cousin then at the envelope. It really was a tiring day and she really wasn't certain how much more she could take. All of this better be worth it. Carefully she broke the seal of the envelope and started reading, hearing her husband's voice in her head.

 _Emilie,_

 _By the time you're reading this, I am in the hospital or in our 'secret lair' below the house, unconscious and unable to function in the world for the next two years, three months and seventeen days. Yes, it is that specific. I counted every day you were gone from my life before, and now you have those days to Adrien alone. It will not be easy, and I know you're angry at me now as well, but know I have done everything I can to make things right. I did many wrong things to make it so, but I did it all for the right reasons._

 _I did everything in order to bring you home to our family, and would likely do it again if it meant even one more day with you._

Emilie had to take a small breath after reading that line, wiped her eyes clear of tears, then continued reading every word. Much of what he said was the same as Nooroo's explanation. Earrings plus cat ring got him a wish to travel back in time to save her and even Ladybug, though saving her was more for Adrien's sake than anyone else's.

 _Our son fell in love with a superhero_ , he joked. _Like father like son I suppose._

"Silly goose." She shook her head at him, a smile on her face. So they had somewhat similar tastes. At least she knew why the time was that specific. To gain back the love of his son, he'd have to save his princess.

Once he explained what happened, much of which she already got from Nooroo, Gabriel started telling her the rest of his brilliant plan. There really wasn't a lot to it at this point other than to hide his unconscious body and have Felicia make sure he could function immediately upon wakening. Nooroo was to stay with him, though fed breads regularly, and no one, not even Adrien, was to know he was below their home.

 _Adrien hasn't mastered hiding secrets_ , he explained. _He will though. He will have one so well hidden, he will make you doubt your suspicions several times. Knowing you, you'll learn it at the right time on your own and make the right call. Only then should you tell him about our lair and tell him everything you know. His letter, the one you're no doubt looking for, will be handed to him then. I did not forget him my love. I just remember how he handled your disappearance far better than I did. Just be his mother during this time, a better one than I could be, and he will stay on the path he was on before._

 _Your son grew up to be more amazing than we imagined before. You will be proud of him._

So much confidence. Emilie wiped her face free of tears reading that. Who knew her husband was such a sap? Oh right, that was one reason she married him.

There were a few more instructions about Adrien's upbringing, certain events likely to come up, but mostly he left it up to her. He was starting to ramble at that point. So cute. The end of the letter came up too soon for her liking, but it was probably fifteen pages long in total. The last page was mostly him reassuring himself and her everything would turn out alright.

 _Remember, I have always loved you, and forever will. I will return to you, no matter what. Even if I fail in one goal, the fact you are reading this letter now is proof I have succeeded in one. Let me pay my price and I will make our family whole again. Maybe then we can expand it a bit. If you wish. If we don't keep an eye on Adrien, he may start expanding it soon on his own._

 _Send him my love, my darling Emilie. And please forgive me for all the wrongs I've done. Dusuu agreed it was the right choice, but taking away a friend is never a happy thing. Be strong._

 _Gabriel_

Felicia's handkerchief was soaked clear through in the end, snuck to her after she put it down the third time to wipe her tears away. No doubt she was a mess, but she was a mess ever since that cyclone popped up. Oh, this was destined to be a bad day no matter what anyone did. And she didn't even know if they really were rewriting the timeline or created a new universe! So many questions, even with so many answers already.

"Feeling any better?"

"A little." She wiped away the residual tears and took a few deep breaths. This was no time to get overly emotional. Gabriel was counting on her. Looking over to Felicia, a plan started to form. "What do we need to bring Gabriel here and keep him alive and comfortable?"

"Quite a bit," she said firmly. "I was checking out the side room meant to be mine or his or whatever, and it doesn't have a lot. Real dusty down here too."

Emilie nodded. "Make a list and I'll have them ordered and delivered for pick up. Nooroo, I'm sorry, but we will need your help after all."

"Wha… what kind of help?" The kwami did not look comfortable in the slightest at the idea. So they'd have to keep this to a minimum.

"We need people to deliver the equipment down here without knowing what they're doing or why. I just need to borrow people for a night or two, set things up, and get Gabriel down here safely. No akuma, just helping hands." A plan of her own started to form. "No one can know where he is."

"Someone has to," Felicia noted. "The press will be all over a top designer going missing. Bad enough he's collapsed like that. Now if he disappeared without a trace -"

"He won't. Not completely."

Her cousin was getting it. "Body double?"

"We will let rumors fly, let people speculate where he went. Then, when things get too hard, I'll release a statement saying he's recovering in a secret location and we simply wish for privacy. Then let it leak he's in Vienna or another healing hot spot. Somewhere a lookalike is resting."

"And what will you tell Adrien?"

She hesitated. What would she tell her son? Slowly she took in a breath and nodded. "I will tell him the truth. That he's safe and in a secret place until he wakes up. When he's older, and no longer angry, I'll take him to his father personally."

"Might want to add that there's been death threats and that's why all the security." Felicia's comment reminded her of how close she came to disappearing that day. Death threats. Yeah, that was one way to say it. "Think that'll be enough to fool him?"

"For now. Adrien's a smart kid. He may figure everything out on his own." She looked back to Nooroo, watching them carefully. "Will you help us, Nooroo?"

"Of course," it stated simply. "It may take a few days for us to be in sync with each other, as I've been with your husband and you Dusuu, but we can merge and do this fairly easily I think."

"That's wonderful."

"But no akumas," Nooroo stated firmly.

"And no superheroing," Felicia added. "Ya need to keep a low profile, Pavlin."

"I know, I know." Emilie smiled ever so slightly. A plan was forming in her mind, mostly inspired by Gabriel but not a perfect match for his. She just had to protect her family and hold down the fort for two years and everything would turn out alright. "I just hope we don't screw up."

"Yeh and me both."

* * *

A/N: Think they're gonna screw up? I... don't know. B3 Depends on what you mean by screw up.

Anywho, the next chapter will be the origin ep, and that's why I had to ask all those questions at the beginning. I need a timeline. So ideas? Also, which eps would you like to see rewritten? the gabriel centric ones are going to obviously be done, but I need to know if there are any we could squeeze Emilie into not keyed in on him. So many things to think about... and they better come out with birthdates soon or I won't know who's older!

So... yeah... comments are very loved. Also remember I have a poll on my profile relevant to this story's climax. Click it please! Until next time!


	7. 7 – New Heroes

FYI, I found a timeline someone pieced together, but it's only season one. So yeah, thank heavens for tumblr. I should make an account there some day. Anywho, I wanted more responses so here's another chapter. I've got this ep, Bubbler, and the Christmas ep figured out, but I'm currently stumped on wifi and which other episodes I can put in, as I'm replacing Gabriel with Emilie. Timeline will skip around a little, and not every episode will happen, but if you know how to bring her in somehow, tell me. There will be chapters from other people's perspective, but it's primarily Emilie changing the world, and Adrien's life changes.

Anywho, poll on my page, comment at the end, and enjoy the story!

* * *

 **7 – New Heroes**

1 year, 7 months, 27 days

"Mami! Can you please stop fussing?"

Emilie Agreste couldn't help but chuckle at her son's discomfort. He came a long way over the past year, and to persistently ask her to send him to a public school where Chloe was, was quite the improvement. He no longer sulked or seemed bitter about his papi, but he did stare at his picture every now and again. He stopped asking where the man was after the leak went out, a little disappointed at first his mother didn't say a word to him about it. Then she let it slip that he wasn't really in Vienna and she already told him the truth. Her boy really was fun to tease. Hence why she insisted on trying to fix every little thing before he walked onto campus.

Humiliating for a teenager? Oh yes. But very much a mother thing to do. "Oh hush. You know you love it."

The sprinkle of blush on his face made her day. So long as she could keep making him blush like that, she was happy. "Now, remember, Chloe isn't the only person in class, and she's certainly not the only girl in the world. Try to make more friends than just her friends."

"I will."

"And bring back any fliers you find for clubs," she added. "Let's broaden your horizons beyond fencing and looking pretty for the press."

"Awww… but I look so good in a tux!" His playfulness was nice to see as well, making her snicker again. Oh her boy really was growing up.

"A tux huh? Are you sure you want to look like a blond penguin forever?"

"Mother..."

"What happened to Mami?"

"Mami, seriously?" She laughed again, enjoying every second. "I need to find my class."

"We could find it together." Having never left him at school before, Emilie was having a very hard time just letting him leave. Yes she hired the bodyguard Gabriel suggested (Nooroo's empathic abilities confirmed her gut saying he was a good person) and he'd be outside the school waiting for him should things go wrong, but she never had to do this before. It was very nerve wracking.

"No." Adrien finally put his foot down. "I have to do this on my own."

"I know," she admitted sadly. Did her baby have to grow up so fast?

"And you have that board meeting to get to anyway."

"Oh, yes. That." Ever since Gabriel's coma, she was the one in charge of his label. Mostly she just pushed papers and selected what designs their teams would put together for the next season. She was a model, not a designer. It was just luck she minored in business and watched her husband enough to know what was going on. Nathalie helped a lot in the office, so much she relied on her more with the company than the house. It seemed to annoy the woman to be busy with the corporate world instead of the home life, but that was fine by her. If Emilie had to go out of her comfort zones covering for her husband, his personal assistant could too. She still had a job in the end.

"So… get going!" Adrien took a step away from his mother, urging her to start her busy day. Not wanting to leave, Emilie brushed a hand over his hair and face one more time. How she loved her brave little boy.

"Mrs. Agreste," Nathalie urged from the car, "we need to leave. Now."

"I'm coming." She pecked her son's forehead quickly and smiled into his eyes. "I love you, my little Chaton."

He smiled right back at her. "Love you too, Mami."

Her hand lingered on him a moment longer before she turned to the car and went inside. As she grabbed the handle to close it, she heard someone call out in pain. She looked back towards the sound, concerned, and spotted an ailing Chinese man in a tourist shirt on the ground. Instinctively she started getting out of the car to help him, but her son beat her to it. Emilie watched with pride how her son helped someone in need, and remembered her husband's words.

' _Your son grew up to be more amazing than we imagined before. You will be proud of him.'_

"Let's get going." She closed the door and let the day go as it should. She had a good feeling about that day, especially for Adrien.

* * *

There were many good reasons why a person should never rely solely on feelings to judge their day. Emilie gaped at the new feed, a pit growing in her stomach. Adrien's first day of official schooling… was also the first day of an akuma attack.

And it was located not far from his school.

"No..."

Instantly, she broke out her phone and called his. "Come on… Come on… Adrien!"

" _Mami?_ " The surprise in his voice on the other end sent relief through her body. He was okay, and likely unaware of what was going on. " _What is it? Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?_ "

"We wrapped up early. Where are you?" Please be safe. Please be safe!

" _I'm… in my room. At home. It was a half day. Did you know they did that?_ "

Emilie let out a long breath, relief flooding through her. Good. He was safe. "No. No I didn't. Stay home okay honey? Something really bad is outside right now."

" _Something bad? What is it?_ "

"Just stay put and watch the news, alright?" She'd have to talk to him about akumas and terror attacks some time in the future. Looking at the news report, she felt more helpless than ever before, and guilty. Dusuu was in the hands of some mad woman and turned some poor soul into a rock monst-

 _Ivan Bruel – Stoneheart – 14_

Her stomach dropped to her feet. The first akuma victim in Gabriel's notebook. Le Paon akumatized a 14 year old boy. At Adrien's school. Gabriel's reasoning was simple to understand: teenagers became angry over silly things and most did not enact on them so violently they couldn't be restrained.

' _Akumatized adults tend to become more violent and take events much further. Children were easier to convince, but harder to keep on track. Teenagers were at just the right level to manipulate and guide into doing dirty work. Adrien's school was the perfect hunting ground, and a few of the subjects did a fair job trapping Ladybug and Chat Noir.'_

" _Mami?_ " Adrien's voice brought her back to present. " _Is everything alright?_ "

"I'm fine," she insisted. Damn it Gabriel! Was sending Adrien to school really the best thing for him? It really seemed like a bad idea now. "I'll be home as soon as I can. Just sit tight, okay?"

" _Yeah. Will do._ "

"Love you Chaton."

" _Love you too Mami._ "

They ended the call, only for Emilie to text someone else.

 _Seen the news?_

Nothing for a few minutes, then

 **Oh yeah. Looks like it's Bug and Cat time!**

 _I hope they show up._

 **Nooroo said Gabe returned their dohickies to the Guardian, so unless something happened to him, they should be fine.**

 _It's Stoneheart._

 **Who?**

 _The first kid in Gabriel's list!_

 **Oh, that thing.**

Emilie sighed.

 _You're hopeless._

 **I just don't see the point in worrying so much about the future! His notebook's great for events and junk, but all that akuma crap bores me.**

 _It took them two days to stop Stoneheart._

 **Welp, there goes the neighborhood.**

 _Maybe I should go out there and tell them what needs to be done._

 **And then tell the world Pavlin had to switch costumes because her idiot husband went back in time to save her and their kid. News at eleven.**

 _Not helping._

 **Not helping is exactly what you should be doing!**

 **Stay put and let the new heroes prove their worth. There's little you can do about it now anyway.**

Sighing, Emilie relented.

 _Fine, but keep your eyes on the screen. I want to know everything there is to know about these two._

 **Well, they look like kids.**

Blood drained from her face. Kids? The new heroes were kids?! "Gabriel..."

* * *

"Mami?" Adrien watched his mother with concern at the dinner table. Her phone was out and she was watching the fight between the new heroes and Stoneheart on repeat. "What are you doing?"

Emilie didn't answer immediately but did eventually pause the video and let out a long sigh. "Just… trying to make sense of it all."

Her son blinked. "Sense? Of what?"

"This attack. The new heroes. Everything. Look here." She pointed at the heroes interacting on the football field, showing him what she thought was wrong. "You can tell from how they interact that they don't know each other, at all. This is their first time meeting, and yet they're trying to team up to save the city. Secondly, I don't think they've had their powers for very long."

"What makes you think that?" So preoccupied with the heroes on the screen, she didn't see her son's wariness.

"Well Chat Noir wasted his power showing off to his new partner, probably because he thinks she's pretty. And Ladybug, she doesn't seem confident at all. She's more like… an emergency leader."

"A what?"

"A person who takes charge only when they have to, not because they like it or are good at it. You'll see it in class soon enough. They're usually the ones taking charge by the end of the group project and make sure the group gets at least a C, even though the rest did next to nothing.

"Anyway, she's inexperienced and succeeded mostly due to luck and being creative. They had to run afterwards because they didn't think the entire plan through, and that is the worst part. See this?" She pointed to the feathers floating off into the sky. You could hardly tell they were there, but Emilie knew what to look for. "I have a feeling that since they didn't take care of this, we may see Stoneheart again.

"And the absolute worst part, what makes me feel so… horrible about this..." She looked at the stills blown up in another screen, and her heart ached. "They're teenagers. All three of them. The two heroes and the victim. The victim's about your age you know. May even go to your school. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Stoneheart… they all remind me of you. And I'd hate to think of you in that kind of danger."

She should have been there. Pavlin should have come and taken care of it. Maybe with Nooroo's power they could get someone to help support the two once in a while? Sure just getting Gabriel safely tucked downstairs with her power drained them both, but it was a better option than just leaving it to two teenagers. It was a good thing Adrien was home during the attack or she would have done something horribly rash. If he were anywhere near the attack…

Emilie let out a long breath and tried to put it aside. She knew the heroes would eventually get it right, and be a duo her husband didn't have a chance stopping, but her anxiety wouldn't fade that easily. Le Paon still hadn't shown her intentions yet, let alone release her name. As far as anyone knew, the kid somehow became a monster and went on a rampage. This was not going to be easy for Ivan. Why did Gabriel give her the names of his victims anyway? As a heads up? As a list to keep Adrien away from danger? He was the one who insisted their son go to public school when the new year started. Why insist on that when it'd only put him in the line of fire? She was getting dizzy trying to figure it out.

Her son put a hand on hers, getting her attention back in focus. Adrien's awkward smile tried to calm her nerves. "Well, I'm not in danger. I think between the school's systems, my gorilla bodyguard, and Chat Noir and Ladybug, I'm pretty safe from anything. So don't worry, Mami. I'll be fine."

Hearing those words did calm Emilie down a little, getting her to smile back. He'd be fine, she knew that. Adrien wasn't an akuma victim. No where on the list. They had every protection in place as it was. And according to Gabriel, Adrien was carefully watched over by Ladybug when all other options failed. Her son was likely the safest boy in the country.

But being his mother and learning of a new threat, she still worried for him.

She took a breath and pushed it aside, hoping his protection would last. She gave his hand a small squeeze. "Well, that aside, how was your first day of school? Make any new friends?"

Something flashed behind his eyes, some kind of pain she wasn't expecting, but he hid it fast and started talking a little fast. "Yeah, I think so. There's this guy who sits next to me in class who offered to be my friend. Said having Chloe was my only friend was really bad karma or something along those lines. Apparently, she's not as well liked as she claims to be.

"His name's Nino Lahiffe, and he -"

 _Nino Lahiffe – Bubbler – 14_

Emilie did her best to listen to her son ramble on about the boy who befriended him so quickly, but it was hard not recalling what her husband wrote about the boy. Nino was Adrien's best friend before the wish, and Gabriel didn't quite approve of him. He was all too easy to akumatize.

Adrien was surrounded by future akumas now.

That duo better learn fast how to be heroes or so help them, she was going to make a few of her own!

* * *

A/N: Originally I had the entire origins two-parter as one chapter, but I stopped it here because it got too long for my liking. Yes there's a countdown, and this is why I needed the timeline. So I'm flubbing a bit. Since it looked like Adrien and Gabriel went through a mourning period before he started school, one Adrien broke out of and his dad used to find Nooroo, I made it over half a year after the previous chapter. I think that makes the disappearance happen in January, but right now everything is a bit of a jumble. Totally willing to retcon everything if we get dates and an official timeline, but I'm not holding my breath.

So how are you liking Emilie? I think of her as a teasing mom who will not hesitate to show off her son's baby pictures to his girlfriend if left alone with her. Very different from Gabriel, yet compatible. She'll do what she can to be with her son and be attentive (very bad for teenaged superheroes actually), but she also has to run a company. I have her planned career path in my head too, prior to modeling and movie and motherhood, but I haven't found a way to have her share it. Maybe later. Anyway, there's a good reason why she can read people like she does here. She does this a lot in this I'm finding. I love analyzing characters!

That aside, I thought it'd be good to explain my 'emergency leader' idea. I hate being in command, but when the pressure's on and we need something done fast and right, I find I'm actually really good at taking charge and getting things rolling. This has happened a few times, and the disaster I started with straightened out fairly well afterward. So I thought, after watching Marinette take charge only when the pressure was on, she was in the same boat. It takes a long time to get used to being a leader, like she does later in the series, but when you figure it out, you can do a good job.

As for Adrien's initial reaction to meeting new people, I just pushed the gum incident up a day, since Adrien actually was there the first day instead of pulled back home. He's troubled Marinette's mad at him and that Chloe isn't as nice as he thought she was. There's another reason he's troubled, much deeper, but that's a scene for later. Just remember, he was seriously angry at his father from the previous timeline. This is the first time he's seen Marinette since that timeline. B3 Take a wild guess how he feels right now.

Enough rambling. Please check my poll, as it's relevant to the climax of this story, and leave a comment below. and if you can think of a better cover for this, please tell me. I can draw and have a scanner, I just don't have ideas right now. Until next time!


	8. 8 – An Interesting Pair

Figured I should post the next chapter before I go back to writing and reading forever. Still working out which eps to turn into chapters, but I created my own timeline based off of others, reordering a few of them along the way. Plus figuring out the future and what eps in season 2 go where and what's important and... well, after the xmas ep, If I don't go nuts typing, I'll slow down updates. Thanks for all the help so far, and if you want to help brainstorm with me, drop me a message or email address. This series is starting to take a lot longer than I had planned. This freakin' world builder needs someone to limit her. XP

Anywho, enjoy the story!

* * *

 **8 – An Interesting Pair**

1 year, 7 months, 26 days

Stone minions. This akuma just had to make stone minions!

Emilie finished confirming with Adrien and his bodyguard that he was safe when the minions started to move, then tried to find a way back to her home and Nooroo before things got bad. Maybe if she took control of a police officer, or maybe the mayor, she'd at least be in the loop of what was happening and could offer advice.

But no, it looked like the fates were doing everything in their power to stop her from getting home. With stone minions!

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Agreste," her driver Claude apologized for the fifth time. One of the stone minions decided to stomp all over the car on it's way to the Eifle Tower. It was just luck Claude didn't get trapped in it or turned into jelly. "I should have been more careful."

"It's fine." It wasn't fine. Pavlin did not sit on the sidelines when a crisis appeared. She ran to the front lines and saved the victims from certain doom. Emilie Agreste though was a graceful lady who was gentle with children, firm with her employees, and unmovable with her adversaries. Compassion was what she preached. Understanding her mantra. Even when she wanted to scream at her comatose husband and fix things with her own hands!

She looked over to where their famous landmark stood, knowing that's where Hawkmoth made his goals known. She had to know who had Dusuu, what her name would be. What her goal was. The faction took her Miraculous and gave it to someone. They used it now through their pawn, something Gabriel almost became. Many facts she knew could change that day.

She needed to be there.

Looking at her driver then her other assistant Marco, she made her decision. Emilie thrust her purse at Marco, a firmness in her face she only showed when she was going to get her way no matter what. "I'll be back soon."

"Mrs. Ag-"

She took off like a shot, kicking off her heels as she ran to the source of the problem. Note to self, invest in flats and stylish trainers. Business suits and pumps were not the clothes for monster chasers, let alone former superheroes. If Emilie was going to make a habit of this, she'd need to be in better shape to do so.

Huffing for breath, she nearly collided into a viewing area's rail, squishing between a couple of spectators. She ignored the tearing of her stockings as she spotted a red blur swoop in and save a yellow one from crashing into the concrete. Her heart stopped for a moment, realizing the yellow blur was Chloe. "Oh thank God."

Chloe ran to her father's arms just as a black blur joined the red. She was too far away to hear what the two were saying or even clearly see them, but they had to be Ladybug and Chat Noir. They talked to the police and it didn't seem to go well. There was a reason Pavlin didn't stick around and talk to Roger Raincomprix in the past; the few times she tried, he didn't care to listen. He listened fine to civilians, but anyone wearing a mask wasn't to be trusted. Her heart went out to Ladybug when she turned away from the officer, seemingly dejected.

Thankfully Chat Noir was at her side and seemed to be supporting her. Damn! Why couldn't Emilie get closer! She wanted a better look at the heroes! She looked around for a way to get closer to the action when the crowd gasped at something new. She jerked her gaze back to the tower and gaped at the sight.

Millions of dark blue feathers swarmed into the shape of a face in front of the tower. A feminine face. She didn't think Dusuu could do that.

"People of Paris," the barely formed face started, "listen carefully. I am Le Paon."

So Gabriel got that much right. Emilie tried to not hold her breath as the declaration filled the air. Passing out now would be bad, and she needed all the information she could get. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, give me the ladybug earrings and cat ring now. You've done enough damage to these innocent people."

That little… Emilie grabbed the railing for dear life, growling to herself. How dare this witch blame these teenagers for the damage she did! Oh, she was going to boil this crone in oil for trying to trick Paris into making them the bad guys!

But it turned out Ladybug didn't need her mental support or vengeful plan. The girl seemed to step up, talking back to the villain with more confidence than she had in that video. Whatever Chat Noir said to her must have worked wonders. Soon she bound over and started throwing her… yo-yo? Ladybug's weapon was a yo-yo? Well, seeing it in action, the girl managed to take on the floating face, destroy it, then release some bright lights into the air while somehow giving a stirring speech for the nearby police to start cheering for her.

Of all the times to not have her phone and an internet connection! She didn't get to hear any of it!

Frustrated, she tried again to find a place closer to the action, anything to know what was going on a little better. Not being in the thick of it was killing her. Somehow she made it to the edge of the police barrier, leaning in to see everything a little bit clearer, and promptly pushed back in by a patrolman. "Sorry ma'am, but you need to stay back."

Emilie gave the man a cold glare as she complied, knowing it was just a person doing their job, but she wanted to know what was happening! From that distance, she could make out the red and black blurs making their way up the tower and being chased by rock minions. It looked like Ladybug was taking the lead and Chat Noir was trying to give her time to figure out a plan by taking on the minions. She seemed to use her special power at the top, her plan probably forming at last. They weren't quite in sync yet, but they were communicating better.

And it seemed, in a second it was all over. One terrifying second. Her heart stopped for a moment as Chat lept off the tower only to catch onto something a few yards down. A girl she hadn't spotted before was in a free fall and Stoneheart lost his form, becoming a teenager once again. Terror clutched Emilie's heart at the sight, doubled as Ladybug fell after them. Chat seemed to dart forward and save one of them quickly, but the others just kept falling. Then a parachute.

She could only breathe easy when she saw the parachute. Ladybug saved the civilian. They did their jobs perfectly.

Emilie let out a very long breath, leaning against the barrier for support as she watched Chat Noir bring the other one down to the ground slowly. All four of them were safe on the ground; no one was injured. Paris was safe once again. But the damages -

Ladybug threw something into the air, and it shattered into a million magical pieces. It swirled and spread across all of Paris, pieces stopping here and there, fixing damages and cleaning up the messes made by the monsters. The rock minions returned to their human forms. Injuries were cured. Some lights even swirled around her, fixing her stockings and putting her missing shoes back on her feet. Emilie's eyes widened, taken back by the healing… magic ladybugs…

"Why didn't I have a cure-all?" The question just slipped out, just too curious about these powers she never heard about. She looked back up to where the heroes were marveling at the display as well. Her eyes laid on the girl capable of fixing everything broken. Was it isolated to only the attack? Or did it fix everything in Paris?

Why did she give Marco her purse again?

Amazed, she started to understand how 'Hawkmoth' was defeated by Ladybug all this time. And why Adrien would start to fall in love with her. Gabriel absolutely had to save her from Le Paon in two years. So long as these attacks took place, Ladybug had to be there. Paris would not survive else wise. And in order for Ladybug to survive, she needed as much help as she could get.

Her eyes fell onto Chat Noir as Ladybug said her goodbyes and swung off. He seemed to watch her until the girl was out of sight, then turned and leapt towards where the crowd was, heading in the opposite direction of his partner… straight towards Emilie.

She kept her eyes on the boy, assessing him as he came closer. The leaps and bounds coming with the Miraculous powers seemed identical to what she had once, but they seemed cooler coming from him. He extended his staff for more leverage, getting further away in his next move, before he looked into the crowd. Their eyes locked almost instantly and she could swear his smile faltered for a moment before becoming a cheeky salute. Then he took off to the Paris rooftops.

That falter and excessive grin only confirmed one thing for her.

That boy knew who she was.

But for the life of her, Emilie didn't have a clue who the boy was! Chat Noir and Ladybug's identities were a secret Gabriel refused to share in his letters. He didn't even tell her they were teenagers around their son's age. "Oh Gabriel… what were you thinking?"

* * *

" _So the catboy recognizes ya. So what?_ "

Emilie sighed into her phone, annoyed by her cousin's indifference. Nathalie was still at the office, taking care of a lot of loose ends for the day, instead of with her to pick up Adrien after school. With the divider up, Claude couldn't hear her conversation. Until Adrien joined her, it was safe to talk honestly. The extra security measures she took daily were worth it if it meant no one knew about Pavlin. "The question is, how does he know me. Is he a fan? From my modeling days? From that movie I did years ago? From… my old night life? Or..."

Honestly, she didn't want to think of all the possibilities. At this point, Chat Noir could be anyone. Her only advantage over others trying to seek out their true identities, was her time as Pavlin. Dusuu said her costume was what she wanted deep down, her idealized self. Emilie acted like a classy lady for everyone sake, but she was a lot more adventurous than she let on, like her father. Her costume was… well daring to say the least, yet feminine. Some would even say girly and silly.

For pity's sake, she was ten when she first used it! And Sailor Moon was her favorite show back then! Course it changed over the years, given practical flares and less of a copy from her childhood fantasies, but it was what she wanted as a superhero. Ladybug's costume was far more practical while Chat Noir's was that and fun, more stylized. There was no purpose for that bell, that she knew for a fact. So that meant Chat wanted it. What did that mean? What teenaged boy would want to look like a cat with a bell? It only implied he wanted to be a cuddled house cat someone loved.

She just had so many questions about the heroes, but just making that connection with Chat Noir unnerved her. She had to know how he knew her, and why he was fighting at all. How dedicated would he become to Ladybug? And why was it in the future Gabriel would have to save her if he was around?

Emilie just had too many questions. It was one of her problems as Pavlin and why it was a good thing she didn't follow her original career path. Modeling, running a fashion business, even acting, none of them were the path she wanted in college. But she started down that road because she needed the money, then Gabriel needed help, then it sounded interesting so why not. If she stuck with her goals, well, life would be very different.

" _Whatever featherbrain._ "

Count on her cousin to bring her back to Earth and the here and now. "Has there been any change in Gabriel's condition?"

" _Nada. Whatever Le Paon is doing, it's not reaching him. Sorry to say it, but it really looks like we have to wait this one out. Just like 'the plan' said to._ "

"I see." Emilie looked out the car window and glared at the sky. It'd been sunny until an hour ago, then it became a downpour. Adrien's bodyguard made sure he came back to school after the attack was over, and delivered an umbrella because of the news reports earlier, so her son was fine. She just didn't want to miss him coming home and was determined to be there as often as she could. And after that akuma attack and Le Paon's declaration, she just had to be sure her baby was alright. "Too much to hope his 'price' would be paid early, huh?"

" _Ya hope too easily. One of yer good points, but a bit annoying._ "

"Love you too, Felicia." They stopped in front of the school and her heart lifted as she spotted her son near the entrance, talking to a girl all in pink. He was okay, and even seemed to be making a friend. She watched with a smile on her face as they talked about something she didn't know about. Emilie could ask him about her later; Adrien was terrible at keeping secrets and would be bursting at the seams to tell her about his new friend. Especially after he passed her his umbrella.

And it closed on her.

She couldn't help but giggle at the sight. " _What's so funny?_ "

"I'll tell you later. Adrien's almost here."

" _Ya better share._ "

"Later." She ended the call and watched as her son headed down the stairs to the car. He seemed to pause briefly and look back at the girl, making his mother smile. Well, maybe he was starting something more than friendship.

Soon Adrien opened the car door and smiled broadly. "Hello Mami."

"Hello Chaton." She scooted over in the seat and let him in, ready to make a few jabs. "So, who's the girl so worth getting wet for?"

Her son closed the door, smiling to himself. Always a good sign. "Her name's Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I think she walks to school."

"Marinette huh?"

For once, a name she did not know from Gabriel's notes. Either she was new, an unknown, or deliberately left out of them. Either way, Marinette did not get akumatized by Hawkmoth, and that was a great sign. "So, you think she's cute?"

"Mami!" Instantly his face turned pink, making her laugh. "She's just a friend! And barely that! That was our first conversation!"

"Looked like flirting from where I was sitting."

"I was not flirting!"

"Sure you weren't." A knowing smile stayed on her lips, enjoyed her boy's discomfort. If he started flirting with a girl, really flirting, she'd have a huge clue to who Ladybug was. She'd have to pay close attention to the girls around him. It was too soon for her baby to have a girlfriend anyway, so why not block and tease him every now and again? "Just be careful who you flirt with. And how. Not everyone likes it the same way."

Adrien looked out the window, embarrassed and sulking. "I wasn't flirting with Marinette."

"Sure you weren't, Chaton."

* * *

A/N: XD Mommy loves to tease her kitty.

Just an FYI, I will always gloss over or dismiss fights. I hate writing them (get too detailed most of the time) so I shall refer you to the episode in question if you want a fight scene. :P

So two more minor OCs, which I came up with on the spot so I have no idea what they look like or their stories other than they're male and work for Emilie. They only exist here because Emilie needed helpers. They have nothing to do with Gabriel. If you want to come up with what they look like (especially Marco [whose last name will be Polo for the moment] because he's more frequent already) please tell.

Also, if you could help me with coming up with Emilie's costume, please help. I'm still trying to figure it out, but when she was ten, it looked like a fuku and has changed since then. Thinking her main weapon will be a bow with unlimited feather arrows, but she's been at this for a long time so who knows if with time there will be more weapons available to her.

Details on them aside, what'd you think? Care to take a guess how long it'll be before she suspects Adrien's Chat? Which episodes do you want showcased? Going into season two as well.

Speaking of season 2, seen 17? I see a new ship. Looking forward to style queen, and by the time the ep comes out, I should be close to that point. *knocks wood*

Ah well. Poll still on profile so click it to help with the climax of this story. Still looking for a cover idea. See you next time!


	9. 9 – Party Time?

I think Wednesday will be my upload date for a while. Man, this is taking longer than I thought it would. Anywho, still working on finding a better cover and a poll for this fic is still on my profile. I've got other things on my plate too so typing isn't happening as much as it probably should, plus I'm reading a lot of other fics while I'm at it. And coming up with more ideas. I can't stop! Thinking of turning one idea into a comic instead, but I'm not that dedicated or talented. Anyone interested in being my artist? Details at end.

So yeah, enjoy! and don't forget to comment at the end! Love comments.

* * *

 **9 – Party Time?**

1 year 4 months 19 days

"I'll think about it."

Adrien watched her with baited breath, something Emilie honestly did not like him doing. It was just short of his abandon kitty look that always got him what he wanted when he was little. Thankfully it worked less and less as he got older and less cute – handsome yes, but cuteness does go down as kids get older. And he was definitely getting older.

His fourteenth birthday was coming up, and he wanted a party. He wanted to spend the day with his friends, especially after hearing what a birthday party was like for them. Never mind the season was getting colder, Christmas was coming soon, and the one year anniversary of Gabriel's… absence… was little over a month away, he wanted a real birthday party. They never threw one before, and every year they just had dinner together and snuggled up on the couch to watch their favorite show or play a game. A party though…

A party could invite danger. A lot of danger.

"Please?"

"I said I'll think about it." Emilie sighed and tried to not be cross with her son. The stress of the job and hiding Gabriel and raising their son while keeping an eye on Ladybug and Chat Noir and looking for clues about the faction was straining her nerves. Plus she had to make sure her charity donations were made in time and to the right people instead of some corporate thug's pockets. She hardly had time to be there for Adrien and keep up with his friends and possible love life. Nathalie helped in the office, but the more she was in the fashion industry, the more work she found to do there. So many people depended on her for their family's survival, she couldn't take a break. If Felicia wasn't self-sustaining for the most part, she'd probably forget about Gabriel and Nooroo entirely with her workload.

Still, one look at her son starting to look like a kicked kitten, and she started to give in. Rubbing her head, she tried for a compromise. "How about this: if you and your friends can come up with a plan, one we can manage and passes scrutiny, I'll allow it.

"BUT," she stopped him before he could get his hopes too far up, "if it doesn't work, we have to think of something else. Something that'll be safer and less complicated. Deal?"

Adrien nodded emphatically. "Deal! I'll talk to Nino today and come up with a plan and have it ready before school's out. Will you be home?"

"I'll try to be." She sighed to herself, depressed at her own inability to be there for her son all the time. How she missed Gabriel and his work stamina. How did he manage to run a company and design lines and manage a teenager and akumatize a fair amount of Paris before? With the winter season changeover, she was in the office a lot. And she had to approve of a company Christmas party plan. She used to be just the one in charge of it, dang it! Gabriel better appreciate the work she put into fixing _his_ mess.

Adrien's smile stayed bright as he kissed her cheek and hurried out the door to get to school. Emilie smiled as he ran out the door, eager to go to school and see his friends. When she was his age, she hated going to school. Course, by fourteen, she had ten years of it under her belt and few real friends. She was so glad he loved going to classes like this. The extra lessons Gabriel insisted on were still going well too, almost to the point she thought one or two should be dropped. Wasn't like Adrien wanted to be a concert pianist or a pro basketball player anyway. They'd have to talk about it later, lighten his load a little if she could. Someone should be allowed to have fun in this house.

She looked over her own schedule for the day then sighed before getting away from her breakfast and going to her husband's office. Emilie made it a ritual for her sanity's sake and insisted no one disturb her when she went in there, on threat of firing. Once Gabriel's office was locked tight, she slipped over to the secret entrance and visited their 'lair'. Nooroo immediately popped up to greet her.

"Good morning, Emilie! How are you today?" The kwami was so sweet and gentle, she reminded Emilie of those moments with Gabriel where she was the only thing on his mind. And the moment he held Adrien for the first time. Nooroo was always polite and concerned for her, but knew not to pry too much. Though shy at first, once she relaxed around her and Felicia, Nooroo could be quite firm and a rock for them.

Emilie gave her some toast from breakfast, pan-fried in eggs, butter, and all the right seasonings. The kwami was all over it in seconds. "Well enough to be expected. How's Gabriel?"

They moved quietly towards the bed stored near the center of the room, and the man lying on top of it. The hospital gown did not suit him, but it was much easier to care for a comatose man this way. Several machines were hooked up to him, including a few to improve circulation in his arms and legs while he wasn't moving. Wires, tubes, everything you could think of linked to the man in the bed. Though it was assured he would wake up in under two years, whether his body would be in any condition to move then was up to them. He was a helpless babe again, constantly sleeping in an artificial 'womb'. The only thing he didn't need help with was breathing.

Nooroo swallowed a bite and gave her usual answer. "No change in his condition, and I don't sense him weakening either."

"Everything's strong and stable." Felicia came up some side steps, still a little wet from a shower. She absently dried her growing hair as she glanced at the monitors around him, interpreting them with ease. "Brainwaves active, blood flow steady, no blockage or signs of infection. Other than being dead to the world, he's a healthy adult male."

"He looks thinner." It was an observation Emilie couldn't help but make every few days, and it unnerved her. Gabriel was never a thick man, but to see him so thin made her worry.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Her cousin's sarcasm came and went with that comment. She was probably tired of hearing the obvious. With him on a liquid diet – just the right amount to keep him alive – Gabriel was bound to lose a good deal of weight and muscle mass. Dealing with a coma patient meant dealing with starvation and malnutrition as well. They were doing their best, but unless the man woke up, ate regularly, and moved about, he was not going to maintain a healthy weight for his height. They were literally doing the best they could.

Emilie gave Felicia a glare before going to his side and holding his hand briefly. She did her best to smile for him and started talking. "Good morning darling. Adrien and I are thinking about having a birthday party soon. Can you believe our baby is going to be fourteen already?"

Silence was her answer, reminding her of the reality before her. Loss and anxiety fought within her, trying to turn her into a sobbing mess again. Visiting every day was probably a bad idea if it made her like this each time, but not visiting made her just as anxious. She missed her foolish husband so much, it was driving her mad. So close yet so far away. Is this the way he felt every time he put on Nooroo and sent out an akuma? It was getting easier to see how he fell into darkness.

Taking a breath, she kissed her love's head and tried to focus on the future. He would be awake in 1 year, 4 months, and 19 days. She flipped a couple pages on a side table, reminding her how long she had to wait. Less than a year and a half to go. She could do this. She will do this! "I'm doing my best darling, and Adrien seems happy. He's excited about planning his first party. I really hope it turns out well.

"I'll see you tonight," She promised, a pained smile on her face. Slowly she let go of his hand and turned away, gathering all her strength as she went. She could do this. She would do this!

* * *

Emilie could not do this. Looking over the party plan carefully, she saw too many problems to count. Why did Adrien and his friend come up with something so flamboyant and loud? This just was not happening. "No."

Seeing the crushed look on her son's face would have gotten her to try and soften the blow before, but that day was long and tiring and she had no energy left. "But… you said -"

"I said if you and your friends could come up with a good plan for a party, I'd agree to it." She waved the paper in front of him. "This is a terrible plan. So, no. Back to the drawing board."

Emilie gave him back the paper and let out a long breath. There were so many designs to look through before approving or tossing, and she still wasn't satisfied with the company's party plan. They were all back to the drawing board, not just Adrien. He took it back with a pout, disappointment leaking from him, but it would not change her mind. There were just too many problems with the idea, and her head hurt too much to try to correct it. Tis the season for headaches indeed.

"So no party..."

"I said back to the drawing board," she reminded her despondent son, her eyes still on her work. "Not 'no party'. You don't even have a date for it."

That perked the boy up a bit, taking out part of her headache. Now if only she could get through these designs faster.

* * *

1 year 4 months 18 days

The second paper of ideas the next evening was just as bad. Bigger and messier. "Denied."

Adrien pouted again as he took it back. "What's wrong with it?"

Emilie didn't even look at the sheet, too busy making sense of the patterns in front of her to bother looking at the specifics of this idea. "How many people are going to be there? How loud is it going to be? Who's the DJ? Who's providing the food? And where exactly will it be held? You need to think of the logistics, Adrien. It's not all about what's cool at the moment. Too many things could go wrong and without the right supervision, the entire thing will collapse. No one will enjoy it, let alone you, the birthday boy."

Her son's pout turned frustrated instead of sad. "At least we set a date."

"And there's another problem."

"It's my birthday!"

"It's much too soon to have all of that worked out." She looked up to him in all honesty. "It's party season. Most people have these big events planned out far in advance to avoid trouble. You want all this figured out within two days. Think smaller and with the resources you have available to you now."

Her son almost glared at her, likely frustrated he was jumping through so many hoops to get what he wanted. "What about the company Christmas party? Is that all figured out?"

"Approved their plan this morning." It wouldn't be grandiose, but it would work. Catering, a tree, and small party favors were all settled. They were still working on the entertainment, but they had two weeks and there were a lot of budding DJs begging for experience and a paycheck. Emilie went back to her work. "Now I need to finish up these design approvals so we can focus on the holiday season, at last. Why does everything have to happen at the same time?"

She sighed to herself, not seeing her son's disappointment. She really was trying to get through these things fast so they could enjoy the coming snow, but there was just so much to look into, she was neglecting her boy for a bit.

Hopefully her backup plan would make up for it.

* * *

1 year 4 months 17 days

" _Ma'am, you have a visitor._ "

Emilie looked up from her research for charities – a break from the designs splitting her head open – towards her intercom. Nathalie was on the other end, taking a break from the main office like she was and doing their jobs in the mansion. Marco was helping with the Christmas party plans at the office so she doubled as her personal assistant for now. So answering the doorbell and telling her such things was to be expected. It was just weird to have a visitor in the middle of the day like this.

Come to think of it, wasn't it a half day for Adrien? He should be back for lunch and…

Oh crap. It was his birthday!

Her headache was doomed to stay with her forever, along with her guilt.

"See them in. I'll be in the foyer in a minute." Emilie rubbed her forehead for a minute before getting out of her chair, putting aside her tablet, and heading towards the front of the house. Her mind was trying to focus on so many things at once, she honestly didn't know what she was going to do with an added visitor. And when she saw a teenaged boy she could only identify thanks to all the extreme vetting she had done on Adrien's classmates, she was getting even more of a headache. "Good afternoon… Nino… right?"

"That's right du- I mean, ma'am." Nino Lahiffe nervously played with a bottle of bubbles, stirring something in her mind that was a little much for her right then. Her headache really made it hard to concentrate. Bordering on a migraine, she was not really in the state to deal with Adrien's best male friend.

"I'm afraid Adrien hasn't made it home yet." His bodyguard contacted her regularly once they made it to the mansion and she hadn't heard from him yet.

"I know du- uh, ma'am. I actually came here to talk to you!"

"Me?" Why was he so nervous? And stuttering? Just reading his body language, she knew he wasn't expecting anything positive from this. It made her worry a little over his home life, but she was likely overthinking it. Why did her college studies have to rear it's head when she already had a headache!

"Uh, yeah!" Nino tried to keep up his nerve and seemed to be getting stronger with every word. "You see, Adrien really wants a birthday party and -"

"Ugh…" Emilie rubbed her head again. The third party idea was a little more feasible last night, but still needed work. Though Adrien still wanted it to be on his actual birthday, she thought they reached a compromise. They were supposed to have their usual celebration that night, something she was working overtime to make certain happened, and then he could do something bigger over the weekend.

Or maybe she drempt that part.

It was a stressful week.

"Nino, I know you mean well, but the party ideas I was given just won't work. If you can give me something we can work with, then I'll approve, but right now, a party on that scale so soon is just not going to happen."

"But Adrien's done everything you've asked him to!" Nino's insistence was a little endearing, but his voice wasn't helping her head. He started ticking things off his fingers. "Fencing lessons, piano lessons, chinese lessons, photo shoots -"

Photo shoots? Emilie jerked to a start at that one. One thing she never asked him to do a photo shoot. Not even once. Adrien was not a model. If she had any say in it, her son would not be part of that self eating world. Yet Nino acted like it was common place. Nathalie next to him didn't react at all to it either.

Was it common place to everyone but her?

And that was the moment her notification from Adrien's bodyguard hit her phone. She had to act fast. "Look, I understand what you're saying, Nino, but right now a party is not a good idea."

"But-"

"As Adrien's mother, I have to do what needs to be done to keep him safe and happy. And a large, rushed job of a party is not the best thing for him."

"But Mrs. Agreste -"

"The answer is no, and that's final."

And it was that moment the front door opened and Adrien came in. Judging by the look on his face, he heard the last part clearly. The disappointment and acceptance of it on his face nearly broke her heart. She rubbed her forehead again, going to her eyes. Hopefully he'd understand her mounting headache and not be as upset as she thought he was. "Nino, please, just go home for the day. We can talk again later."

"But Adrien's birthday is today!"

"I'm very aware of that," she insisted, "and we have a plan for the night. It's just not a party."

"But -"

"Nathalie, can you please escort Nino out? My head is killing me." Emilie tried to give an apologetic smile to her son, but the throbbing in her brain was too much to make more than a grimace. This was turning out to be the worst birthday yet for her boy. Bad enough his father wasn't there, but to be denied his party after the hope of having one was even worse.

A nice dark room, a cooling cloth over her eyes, and a bottle of aspirin would hopefully put her in a state to make the rest of his day good.

* * *

Instead she got a bubble in the bright sky high over Paris. Panic flooded her veins as Emilie finally remembered why she had to be careful about Nino.

 _Nino Lahiffe – Bubbler – 14_

She made this akuma, not her husband.

Anger and guilt filled her chest as she pounded a fist against the bubble, screaming for her freedom. Did these bubbles get Gabriel? Felicia? What about Adrien? What would happen to him? She didn't have her cell on her. She couldn't check on him. He wasn't safe! "Nino! Get me down from here! This won't make Adrien happy!"

* * *

A/N: This chapter got long and so I had to split in two. The next chapter will come from a new perspective or two! it'll be fun either way. I wanted to throw another episode between this and the origins ep, but in the end, I couldn't figure out how to put in a non-plot important ep into anything. And one major hint I got about Gabriel being Hawkmoth came here: why was the one adult who triggered everything with Nino not shown floating in a bubble? I see what you did Gabriel. B3

So I have Emilie approving the idea of a party, but there are limitations. There's a lot more to it than this but that'll be brought in next chapter. Bubbler's party is not my idea of fun honestly and a little abrupt for anyone. A big party like that would take time to set up. This is part of being an adult boys, seeing the problems that come with setting up parties for large groups. Been there, done that, it sucks when rushed. Love how more like Chat he is with his mom here too and pushing for the party a bit more. So fun!

As for the photoshoots, here Adrien is NOT a model, but the lingering feeling he is and that he's famous is still around. It'll be a problem later, one Emilie will be dealing with as any protective mother would. Person headcannon is that Gabriel used modeling as a tool to get Adrien to smile again after his mother disappeared. Though Gabriel is unable to move on, he's still a father and wants his son to be happy, even when he can't do it directly. Someone put out the idea that Nino was akumatized to give Adrien a last minute birthday party and I thought that was funny. Gabriel has a strange parenting method without his wife.

Anywho, I mentioned in the beginning of an idea I kinda want to make a comic or doujinshi for Miraculous, largely because I think the story would be better told that way. The idea is that when the school gets taken over by terrorists who want Hawkmoth's power, Adrien gets 'akumatized' to save his class. But he isn't a supervillain, he's a blend of himself and Chat Noir in a different mask, and getting constant help from Hawkmoth as he and LB free the school. If you're interested in helping with this project/idea, send me a note and let me see some of your artwork. I can draw fine, but I lack dedication. We'll share credit and will put it in multiple locations. Just an idea, but I think the story will do better as a comic than a book.

So! Comment below and keep the juices flowing! Poll on profile. Laters!


	10. 10 – No Need for Parties

Honestly should have posted earlier today, but I'm having dental issues and my jaw aches a lot right now. Plus I can't stop reading other people's fics. Fun fact: tomorrow's my bday so this is an ironic chapter timing wise. I really need to finish another chapter though and continue writing. Ah well.

Enjoy! and remember to comment at the end. I love comments!

* * *

 **10 – No Need for Parties**

A party? For him?

Nino akumatized?

Adrien honestly didn't know what to do. As Chat Noir, he should stop Bubbler and save Nino from Le Paon's control. But as Adrien Agreste, there was no guarantee he would ever get a party like this again. His mother was cool compared to his father, letting him do a lot more and run around as he liked, but not being allowed a party was just uncool. He really wanted a party with his friends this year. No presents, just a party.

Well, he wanted his father home too, but even that was a mixed feeling in him. Mami being in charge was a lot warmer than Papi. And there was something else, something he couldn't quite place, and it always made him feel angry and guilty when he tried to figure it out.

"Hey kid," Plagg started, getting him to stop that train of thought, "what are you doing?"

"I… I don't know." They slid back into the mansion once he saw the crowd, conflicted. His head was starting to hurt now too. "We should probably transform."

"You don't want to enjoy the party a little?" The cat didn't seem against joining, but he also wasn't insisting. Something about that felt off, but Adrien set it aside.

He looked up towards where his father's office was, remembering how his mother locked herself inside so many times lately. With her headache, she was probably still in there, recovering slowly. She probably wouldn't object to this… right? She was safe and sound in the mansion, and Nino wasn't a violent person. Maybe if he could get Nino to stop on his own, get the party fever out of him, there wouldn't be a need to fight his best friend.

"Fifteen minutes." He'd give himself that. "Then we transform and deakumatize Nino. Unless Ladybug pops up, then we get to it immediately. Deal?"

"Deal." Plagg seemed satisfied with the conclusion and Adrien slipped back outside to enjoy the party.

Within five minutes he could tell no one was really into it. Some were even scared and miserable. Ivan didn't even pretend to want to be there. Adrien managed to slip through the crowd, dodging Chloe somehow, and get to him without being noticed by Nino. "Ivan, what's going on? Why aren't you having fun?"

The giant teen (was he related to the Gorilla?) glared a little at him before answering. "You really don't know, do you."

"Know what?" Guilt grew inside him. Something happened, something bad, to make this party happen. Part of him knew this the entire time, but he wanted to deny it. Please let his gut be wrong.

Ivan cringed inwardly before telling him the truth. "Bubbler captured all the adults and now they're floating in the sky somewhere."

Everything in Adrien turned ice with dread. "Mami..."

"Yeah, all our parents are gone. Happy Birthday."

Panic gripped his throat. His mother was thousands of meters in the air, not safe in his father's office recovering from a headache. Papi would be up there too, if he weren't out of Paris. Nathalie… the Gorilla… everyone's parents… their teachers… everyone gone. Tremors took over Adrien's body at the thought, and his selfish wish for a party felt cruel and evil.

He caused this.

He had to fix this.

Without thinking, he turned and ran to the stage, glaring at Bubbler. "Nino! Stop it!"

"Dude! What's the problem?" The akuma just gaped at him, too shocked at the outburst to react any other way. "The mix no good?"

"Return everyone's parents Nino." He shook as he spoke, the very real threat of losing his mother as well terrifying him. And knowing others would lose their parents… he never wanted anyone to feel his pain.

"But, the party!"

He shook his head, holding himself for support. "More than a party, I want my mother here for my birthday. My father too..."

"Adults ruin everything!" Bubbler was getting agitated, reaching for that large want on his back. "All their rules! All their commands! We're better off without them!"

"I've been without them!" It barely came out, but his words were heard, and it tore his heart. Just the thought of losing his parents completely… He couldn't bear it. "It's worse than you can imagine, Nino. I know you mean well, but -"

"If you love those adults so much," the enraged villain growled, whipping out his large wand, "join them!"

"LOOK OUT!"

Screams and shouts filled the air the exact second Adrien dived off the stage, tucked into a roll, and darted into the building. He saw a flash of red and black spots, instinctively knowing Ladybug got there in time to save him. She'd keep Bubbler busy until Chat Noir got himself together and joined the fight.

But just inside the mansion, Adrien closed the door and slid down it, guilt killing him inside. He shouldn't have joined the party. He shouldn't have tried to have one. All of this was his fault. "All my fault..."

"Kiddo," Plagg's voice came to him quietly, comforting him, "none of this is your fault."

"But if I -"

"No 'buts' or 'ifs'. Everyone made their own choices. You didn't make this happen." The kwami butted his head against Adrien's cheek softly, almost nuzzling him. "But you can make it end. Claws out?"

Adrien petted Plagg for a few seconds more, taking some comfort in his words before nodding. "Claws out."

* * *

The second he was sure the miraculous bugs fixed everything, Chat was looking around for every adult he knew. He looked back to Nino, dazed and confused on an Eifle Tower rebar, then to his beeping ring. There was no way he'd get him down and get home before his power died. He turned to his lady and saluted. "I'll leave the transport to you LB. Later."

A few leaps and vaults later, and his transformation beeping nearly died. Two blocks away from home and he had to drop into an alley and run the rest of the way on foot. Adrien wasn't the only person running home in that moment, so no one was looking at him on the way to the mansion. Getting back through the gate, it was hard to believe the place had a party there just twenty minutes ago. The yard was spotless, every blade perfectly in place.

Except where his mother came tearing through, ignoring the concrete path between them. All the knots in his stomach vanished the second he saw her, and dissolved into tears the instant her arms were around him. He held onto her for dear life, so relieved he didn't lose her. He couldn't bear it if it happened again.

Don't think about it, he told himself. Don't think about that nightmare.

"Adrien, where were you?! I was so worried when I didn't find you in your room!" The sheer panic in her voice was enough to bring guilt back to him. He hated lying to his mother, but he had to, to keep her safe. This was one secret he could never share.

"Bubbler was Nino… he knows where I go during attacks… so… so I ran to the school for cover." He held his mother a little closer. "I made him mad, trying to get you back. I… I thought -"

"Shh… it's okay Chaton." Mami ran her hand over his head, comforting him with every stroke. Her panic seemed to melt away but she kept her arms around no matter what. "You did the right thing."

"Mami..." He pulled away enough to look into her eyes guiltily. "I don't think I want a party anymore."

The stunned look on her face was priceless, and it was exactly what he was aiming for. As was the laugh right after. He was too old to be earnest in pleading this way, but it did settle her worries a little. He'd do anything if it meant keeping her with him, smiling like this. She pulled him back to her chest and gave him a squeeze. "Oh we'll have a party Chaton, just not today and not like this one. Let's get inside. You still need to pick a movie for tonight."

Adrien smiled in relief as his mother pulled him back into the house so they could celebrate his birthday their way.

* * *

1 year 4 months 16 days

Nino just stared at the text on his phone in complete confusion. He was still confused, even after getting it in the middle of class that day. Why did Mrs. Agreste have his number? And she texts? "Weird..."

Still, he obeyed it, not wanting to anger Adrien's mom any more than he already did. So right after school that day, he made his way over to the Agreste mansion and rang the doorbell. Instead of a chick on the other end, there was a man, and he let him in immediately. The dude gave him a nice smile before leading him to an office far from Adrien's room. "Madam, Nino Lahiffe for you."

Mrs. Agreste looked up from some doodles she was stamping and smiled. "Thank you Marco. Mind taking these and making the necessary calls?"

"Are these the last of them?" The man took the doodles and looked through them quickly. They both seemed rather tired for some reason.

The lady nodded, grinning as she came around the desk. "We have enough designs to get through the season. I'll start approving the next line in January so we get a better start on it."

"Still not used to this."

"Same. But we're getting better. Wish Gabriel left some kind of instruction manual on how to keep the company going." She shook her head and looked back to Nino. "Alright Nino, we need to talk, and we don't have a lot of time."

"I'll get on these." The man turned and left the office, securing the door behind him so they had privacy. That was the last thing a wound up Nino wanted.

Was she going to forbid him from seeing Adrien after the whole Bubbler thing? He couldn't even remember what he did under Le Paon's control! Course, hearing he actually got revenge on all the adults in his life was kinda nice. But hearing about the party no one wanted to go to really sucked. Adrien seemed cool with him, even showing off the cool scarf his dad prepared for him before his birthday. He held on to it pretty tightly in class too. Guess the dude really missed his old man. But his mom was an entirely different story.

"Du- I mean… Ma'am. If… if you're mad about yesterday -"

Mrs. Agreste held up a hand, leaning against the desk informally. She wasn't near as stiff as the other lady from yesterday, and neither was her male assistant. And she sure wasn't mad. She let out a long breath before speaking. "I'm not mad, Nino. Actually, I wanted to apologize for my behavior."

"Apolo-"

"I know better than most what it takes to make an akuma, and I unintentionally made it happen by upsetting you. Le Paon likes to take teenagers upset by small, trivial things they believe to be very important. In a few years time, you'll see for yourself I was right to say no yesterday. Time changes a lot of things Nino, especially perspective."

She shook her head slowly before continuing. "Sorry for upsetting you yesterday. My headache didn't help my mood and with all the extra hours I was putting in with work, I didn't have the ability to be friendly or reasonable. The truth is, I wanted to talk to you, alone, for a bit now."

"You did?" Nino couldn't help but be shocked listening to her. An adult… apologizing… to him? And… maybe respecting him?

"Yes. I need help with Adrien's surprise party."

"Surprise party!" That took him for a loop. No freakin' way! Maybe Adrien's mom was cool!

"Yes, a surprise party." She reached behind herself and brought out some papers he kinda recognized. "Honestly, I wanted to throw something on his birthday, but I was also trying to clear a lot of schedules for the holidays. There's a lot more fashion seasons than people realize and to stay on top of the game, I had to approve of a lot of designs in a very short amount of time. Plus the company Christmas party, finding the right charities… I was swamped. Adrien and you came up with some ideas, but I'm afraid they just won't work for what I have in mind, and they didn't give me enough time to make them work."

"Why don't they work?" That was something he didn't quite understand. Why did Mrs. Agreste keep telling them to try again? What was wrong with their plans?

"Too big and too open," she said simply.

"What's wrong with a big party?" Everyone liked big parties, right? (A/N: nope! Hate big parties)

The lady smiled sadly. "The bigger the party, the bigger the risks."

"Huh?"

She took a deep breath and went back around the desk to a filing cabinet. "Did Adrien tell you what happened to his father?"

Nino shifted uncomfortably. "He… He said his dad collapsed one day and hasn't woken up."

"That's what we told him," she confirmed, taking a folder out. She came back from behind the desk and passed it to him. "But it's not the whole truth. Gabriel collapsed because he was saving my life."

Did a truck just hit him? Felt like a truck hit him. "Wha?"

"Don't tell him. It will only make him worry." Mrs. Agreste looked at the folder sadly, remembering something she didn't want to. "We were just taking a walk, a casual date without any eyes on us. Something attacked us, and Gabriel… he protected me. The attack triggered something in his brain and he fell into a coma."

That truck hit him again. "Whoa..."

"It's non-fatal, thank God, but until he wakes up, there's not much we can do other than wait and keep him safe." She tapped the folder she gave him, silently insisting he open it. "I wish I could say attempts on our lives were rare, but there are reasons Adrien has a bodyguard. These are just from last month."

Nino opened the folder and knew almost instantly what the papers in there were. Death threats. Four of them.

People were after Adrien's life.

"Why?"

He didn't mean to say it out loud, but he did, and in horror. Why were people after Adrien's life? "He's just a kid. He's not famous or did anything big or mean or… or anything! He's just Adrien!"

"Even Mother Teresa had death threats, Nino." Mrs. Agreste took the letters from him, sighing. "You can do everything right, and people will hate you anyway, just for existing. Some people are jealous, some want money, many want attention, but mostly they're just crazy and don't understand these threats are not going to help anyone. It's like those social media posts foolish teens send to classmates, just because they can, not realizing the effect it will have on their target.

"Adrien doesn't have any social media accounts because of this," she insisted, "and all his mail is checked before he gets it. I keep these away from my son so he can be happy and not jaded by the world. I take every precaution to make sure these nuts can't get to him, and a big open party, like what you had planned, would invite them easily."

She closed the folder and set it back on the desk. Nino got the message loud and clear. Too big, too open, too many risks. That's why their earlier plans failed. Now he understood Adrien's mom. Felt like he understood his dad a little too.

"Wha..." he started, not sure if the idea starting in him was any good. The lady watched him patiently, waiting, so he cleared his throat and went for it. "What about a smaller party? One indoors? With only our class and… and… Oh! Alya's mom's a cook at Chloe's hotel! She could cater it! And… and Marinette's parents are bakers! They could make the cake! Juleka's mom's kinda got a band together, so they could do a live show between my DJing. And… and..."

He racked his brain for more ideas, more ways to make this party happen and keep it safe. With Mrs. Agreste as paranoid as she was – and rightfully so – she must have vetted everyone in their class and their families. No risk if they kept it intimate like this.

He looked up from his thoughts to see a smiling Emilie Agreste. "Now we're getting somewhere. And I know exactly where to have it."

* * *

Adrien thumbed the scarf around his shoulders lovingly, thinking over what his mother said last night and how Nathalie gave him the present yesterday. Formal as always, she just said 'a gift for you'. It wasn't something she'd give personally – Nathalie did not do birthdays or holidays – so he assumed it had to come from his parents. When his mother asked where it came from, he had to assume it was a gift from this father, one prepared for him before he…

It did come from his father, right?

Adrien kept telling himself this over and over again, praying his father cared this much for him at least. He was horrible at giving good gifts, at least on time. He redesigned Adrien's room to what it was now, but that happened last summer, long after his 12th birthday. He only had a pen to think of as his 13th birthday present from him, his collapse happening so soon after.

So why was he so convinced this scarf came from his father?

His head hurt thinking about it.

He was so caught up in thought, he almost ran headlong into his best friend leaving his house. "Whoa! Nino!"

"Hey dude!" The grin on the guy's face was completely different from when he left yesterday. "Just finished talking to your mom. She's way cooler than I thought. Wish my old lady was that awesome."

Weirdness abound. "What? You were… What's going on?"

A big sneaky grin grew on Nino's face. "You'll see. Just saying though, your mom's awesome. Gotta run! See you later!"

And like that, Adrien's life just got a lot more confusing. He waved his friend off and finally got into his home. His mother also had this big smile on her face as she greeted him, personally headed towards the kitchens. "Welcome back Chaton! How was fencing?"

"Pretty good," he said nonchalantly, trying to get past his own growing headache. "Um… Mami, why was Nino here?"

"Oh he was helping me put together my present for you." Adrien stared blankly at his mother. His present? Come to think of it, she hadn't given him one yet. She was way better than his father giving them on time, but this year was just a jumble. He followed her to the kitchen, wanting to know more. "It's not ready yet of course, and since it's going to be late, I wanted to make certain you'd like it without giving it away. Your friend was very helpful.

"I also wanted to explain myself from yesterday." She smiled calmly as she grabbed the hidden cookie jar from one counter and put it on the island. Adrien took a stool near it and waited as his mother brought out a couple cups and a jug of milk. She hadn't done this in a while, which meant… "I think I have most of my work done for a while, so other than a few auditing meeting and other events, I should be free for the next month. So let's celebrate!"

Her son grinned. "We're going to be celebrating a lot soon."

"And we have a lot to celebrate." Mami filled one glass and passed it to him before opening the jar. "No more than five though, and you still have homework. And don't tell your father. You know how he is about sugar."

Adrien laughed. "Yeah, wouldn't want to ruin my model figure."

He didn't see his mother pause momentarily at the comment before she joined him in their favorite secret celebration: milk and cookies for a job well done .

* * *

A/N: I haven't written the party. If you want to, I won't object. It has to be made and run by Adrien's class and maybe get Emilie in good graces with the Dupain-Chengs. I had an idea, but it got long. I honestly didn't think this story would go this long, but I started making an elseworld and my mind went haywire. I tend to go overboard with elseworlds. *coughDNBcough* So yeah... there may be shorts later, separate from the core story. May make the core story go faster.

Adrien still believes the scarf comes from his dad and nothing's going to shake him from that entirely for a long time. Marinette knows he misses his dad too so don't think she'll be upset by this either. The only way he'll realize the truth is either if they reveal it in teh show and I get an idea, or Gabriel's honest. Why Nathalie still gave it to him as if it were his father? Well... B] That's something I will explain next chapter. Or Nooroo will.

I needed this mostly from Adrien's perspective, so even though the story's mostly from Emilie's right now, it'll be switching mostly among the Agrestes. Remember, it started with Gabriel's only, then Emilie came in, and now we have Adrien (and nino, but seriously, I think that's a one time thing). He's a fresh perspective this time around, and you can kinda see where a wiser kitty is reliving this event. He has a lot more freedom in this AU, but there's still the lessons from the previous one.

And one last note: is there a fan theory about Ivan and the Gorilla being connected? just an idea I wanted to throw out there.

Please comment and remember I have a poll on my profile for this fic. Until next time!


	11. 11 – Holiday Blues

Confession time: I'm way better coming up with ideas than finishing them. Another idea is in my head right now and I'm having trouble with this one. So it's likely after this chapter it'll be on hiatus. Seriously, ideas for this one are going on and on and on, but that's also part of the problem. it's becoming too big. So until I have another long run of chapters for this, releases will be less frequent.

Depressing thought aside, I went straight to the holidays after the last chapter. there isn't a countdown number on this one because it's on Christmas instead of a vague date. Unless there's a set date due to a holiday, everything is kept vague in the series. I saw a theory vid yesterday about timelines not really existing in the series so i'm gonna go back to the drawing board and rework what I had planned. But I wanted Christmas dang it! so here you go.

Also a bit of Emilie and Gabriel's romance is here. Enjoy!

* * *

 **11 – Holiday Blues**

Emilie held her husband's hand, taking some small comfort that it was warm. The window shades were open, allowing them to see the snow falling outside. Christmas had come again, with snow falling and bells ringing. Their home was decorated to her liking, a pleasant distraction from the empty place at their table, but it only worked for so long. One never misses someone more than during the holidays, and it seemed to hurt more with him so close yet unable to be with them.

"Emilie," Nooroo's voice broke through her thoughts, and secretly she was grateful. The kwami's pleading look reminded her a little too much of Dusuu, pulling her heart even more. "You really should get back upstairs. You worked so hard to free up the holidays, you should be with Adrien."

"I know," she murmured. She held Gabriel's hand to her cheek, just wanting his warmth for a little longer. Nearly a year and her heart was breaking. Did she have to wait so long?

"No, you need to be with him." Nooroo's purple hand touched hers, begging for her attention. "Last time, when Adrien had his first Christmas without you, he ran out into the night!"

That got her full attention. "He what!"

"He ran away!" The kwami tried to explain everything quickly. "He came back after an hour or two with a Santa Claus, and then that man was akumatized after being accused of kidnapping Adrien! Please! For the sake of everyone! Stay with him tonight!"

Emilie didn't need a second prompting. She put her husband's hand down and ran from his bed to the office entrance. She composed herself as soon as she was back in her home proper and tried to not look worried as she searched out her son.

Thankfully he was still doing last minute decorations on the tree with her assistants. She let out a sigh of relief as she got closer, listening to their conversation.

"Do you think she'll like it?"

Nathalie spotted Emile on the stairs and caught her mischievous grin, and the finger pressed to her lips. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Well..." Adrien looked down, a little depressed. How her boy tried so hard to keep cheerful. "She really looks like she's forcing herself to smile these days."

"It's never easy over the holidays when the ones you love are elsewhere," Marco murmured nearby. Emilie's heart went out to him. His fiance went on a family vacation to Milan, leaving him behind. And don't even get him started on his blood relatives. Spending Christmas with the Agrestes was preferable to being alone. He looked up and saw Emilie as well and twisted his lips in thought. "But if you stay by her, I'm sure she'll perk up."

"You think so?" There was enough hope in her boy's voice to make this the perfect moment.

Emilie hugged him from behind and nuzzled his cheek playfully. "I know so, Chaton."

"Mami!" The surprise and relief in his voice made her glad she listened to Nooroo in time. "When did you -"

"Just now. It looks beautiful." She pecked him on the cheek and decided to pull him away from all his gloomy thoughts. "Hey, how about a walk? A chance to clear our heads."

"A walk?" It was pretty sudden, so his confusion was warranted. He looked out the window. "But it's late, and snowing."

"All the better for cuddling with cocoa and blankets after." And they were guaranteed less potential human threats this way. "Come on. There's a tree lit up near your school, and with everyone else inside, we can actually get close to it."

"Sounds wonderful!" Hie energy perked up at the idea of an adventure, and Emilie couldn't help but smile. With wonderful timing, Adrien's bodyguard returned from his errand, holding both their yule log and a gift. Rumor had it they were the best in the city, but since when did it come with a gift? 'The Gorilla' came to Adrien and handed him the gift before going to the kitchens with the pastry. "Thank you. And Merry Christmas!"

"Well, I didn't think yule logs came with free gifts." Curious, she prodded her son to open it. And he did, surprising her. "Cute hat."

"Yeah, it's really good." He opened up the santa hat a little to put it on only to find a card addressed to him. Emilie just kept looking at the hat, then groaned inside. She was looking at designs too much. Trying to reverse engineer the idea and reproduce it for mass production was not a good idea. Better to just hire the person who -

Gabriel really needed to wake up and get her out of the corporate world. She couldn't get out of business mode even when on vacation. "Who's it from, Adrien?"

"Marinette."

Emilie took a good look at his smile as he looked at the card, and the hint of a blush. Maybe he was happy to get something from a classmate, or embarrassed to be on the spot in front of so many adults. But she personally had her own theory. "Marinette eh? Isn't that the cute girl you gave your umbrella to?"

"Yeah..." Adrien stopped and looked up to his mother's mischievous grin. Then he turned bright red. "It's not what you think!"

"Oh really?" This was too much fun.

"She's just a friend!"

"Sure she is." The only girl in his class not on Gabriel's list and he talked about her fairly often.

"I like someone else!"

That was a bomb she wasn't quite prepared for. "Oh? Do tell."

That was it for him. He turned and almost ran to his room. "No way! Not sharing!"

Emilie just laughed. Her son was so cute! If Gabriel didn't tell her he was interested in Ladybug, she would have teased him even more. Still, with how much he talked about Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she was still curious. She looked over to the assistants watching, particularly Marco about to bust his gut holding in his laughter. "Go ahead. He's not here to be offended."

The man's laugh had a small giggle join him as Emilie followed after her boy. Would embarrassment make him run away? She hoped not, but he was a teenager. 14 already. Oh how time flies. She rapped on his door before talking through it. "I still want to go on a walk. If you're interested, get your coat and boots on and meet me in the foyer in ten minutes. You don't have to wear the hat, but if we go by the bakery, it would make Marinette's day to see you wearing it."

She didn't get a response, but she didn't want to press it. This was their first Christmas without Gabriel. She didn't want to make the next one without her son. So his mother made her way to her dressing room and found her most comfortable snow boots, coat, and gloves before looking for just the right hat. She twirled in front of the mirrors, admiring the completed outfit. It was perfect.

' _Are you trying to make me blush, darling?_ '

With a start, Emilie turned to the doorway. For the briefest of moments, she could have sworn Gabriel was there, admiring her and choosing him over all the fashions of Paris.

But there was no one there.

The door was closed, and her husband was below, asleep and hidden from the world.

She couldn't stop the tears this time.

Without her bidding, she crumbled to the ground in tears, mourning her sweet and idiotic husband. All she wanted was him back in her arms, awake and smiling at her. She needed him at her side, to support her, to protect and provide as he promised he would. To make her smile and fight and keep going when all she wanted to do was give up. She wasn't strong enough to go alone, no matter how many people surrounded her, helping in any way they could.

She needed _him_.

Emilie needed her Gabriel. Her messenger from heaven itself.

"Mami?"

A cautious voice and a small knock broke her out of her thoughts. She had to be strong. For Adrien. For their shared love and proof thereof. She had to buck up, now. She couldn't afford to be akumatized. Quickly she wiped her face free of tears and took a few calming breaths. "One minute Chaton!"

"Is everything alright?" The concern in her baby's voice hurt, but she had to be strong. "If… if you're not up for it… We don't have to go walking tonight."

Emilie whipped open the door instantly, looking him straight in the eye. "Yes we do. If only… to cool our heads and stay away from gloomy thoughts."

Adrien's worry over her stayed on his face. "But..."

"I need this, Adrien." She really did. The logical part of her brain was being overwritten by the emotional part. Holidays really were harder when the one you loved was far away from you. In time you get used to not having parents there, but the love of your life? She needed to get out of the house. There was no way she could sleep in their bed tonight. She had to focus on their son.

And he had to focus on something else too. She flicked the duel tails of the new hat fondly. "Please keep me company tonight. I need a strapping young man on my arm to keep Le Paon away."

That seemed to trigger something in her son's mind and he nodded, resolute. Adrien had no idea how much he looked like his father when he did that. Then he grinned his cheeky smile and bowed graciously. "Then allow me to escort you safely, your majesty."

Emilie giggled and gave her own curtsy. "Why thank you, good knight."

He laughed back and extended his arm to her, playing up the knight roll as much as he could. She knew he did it to make her laugh, but he also enjoyed it quite a bit. Just like his father.

* * *

Many people didn't know this, but France had a fairly steady climate compared to many countries. Wild winters were rare and summers rarely made it to the 90's. So a stroll through a snow covered Parisian street was rather comfortable if you knew how to dress. And the Gabriel Agreste label knew how to dress for Paris. The only ice Emilie and Adrien had to worry about was the black kind, but with the fresh snow piling up around them, even that wasn't much of a problem.

Their only real worry was being more than fifteen meters from their bodyguard. As much as they wanted to just walk like anyone else, Emilie wasn't so naive to just leave their best protection at home. No Miraculous users here at the moment. She doubted Nooroo would like a stroll in the snow anyway. And it's not exactly subtle to carry a saber or an archery set in the middle of winter. They just wanted a walk, nothing else.

"Mami," Adrien started, taking Emilie's attention away from the snow and the decorated homes.

"Yes?"

His cheeks were a little red and he didn't look at her as he spoke. What was he so embarrassed about? "Um… how… how do you get a girl's attention?"

Emilie stared at her son in shock. Was… was he asking for dating advice? No, not dating. Just how to flirt? Get a girl's attention? "Attention how?"

"I mean..." He looked further away, getting redder. "How… how did you and Papi… get together? I mean -" He stopped and looked at her incessantly, trying to explain himself. "Not your entire courtship or things like that! I just… I just want to know how… how you met and… how you started… why did you start liking him?"

Oh for the love of chocolate, could her son be any more adorable? It took all her self-control to not burst out laughing at his cuteness. If he acted like this in front of the girl he liked – who he insisted was not Marinette – she would be all over him in seconds. A loving giggle escaped her lips, making her son blush even harder. "I'm just curious! It doesn't mean anything! I just wanted to know! For… for the future!"

"Right right." Too cute. Emilie straightened herself as much as she could. If she hurt her boy's pride now, he may never open up when his actual love interest came around. Smiling, she looked to the sky and remembered her own, much younger Gabriel. "Well, truth be told, your father and I ran in the same circles for years. His father in politics and my mother a financier, we were bound to run into each other when our parents needed to be seen. So we always knew _of_ each other. It's hard to say when we first met. There certainly wasn't a spark at first sight. That spark came later.

"I think I first really noticed him when he was no longer in the same circles." Oh that was a fun time of her life. Her adventuring father finally had to stay home after a serious accident put him in a chair for two years. And her mother loved doting on him, making him stick around and tell stories instead of making them happen. They were fairly comfortable financially so her mother could take a break from it all, but still played nice with politicians, businessmen, and news hubs, keeping Emilie's access to their world. Her husband on the other hand…

"Gabriel rebelled against his father, taking art and designing classes in college instead of management or political ones. He did take business ones later, and honestly, that's where we met up again. I already heard he was cut off and living his own life, so I was interested in what the stiff young man always in the corner playing nice was like off his leash."

She certainly wasn't the same once away from those circles. Oh the pranks she played and the parties she went to… And then there were her adventures as Pavlin. Oh those were the days… She giggled to herself, remembering when she actually saved Gabriel from an early faction monster. They had no imagination back then and it really was like a scene from a 60's movie. After getting him to safety, he grabbed her hand and begged to meet her again that night, just to take some sketches of her. She agreed quickly and ran back to the battle, just so he'd stay away from it. Pavlin had a feeling he'd put himself into more danger if she didn't.

Honestly it was that night their relationship actually started. But she couldn't tell Adrien that. Not yet at least. She couldn't tell him his father fell in love with a superhero, not when she couldn't fight anymore. "He asked me to model for him, and, curious, I agreed. While he sketched, I asked him questions and teased him. Then he teased me back. We bantered and, well..." She giggled, a little bashful. "Honestly, it's a little embarrassing."

"How? Why was it embarrassing?" Emilie had all of Adrien's attention, eager to learn more about their relationship. "Did something perverted happen by accident? Was there some kind of misunderstanding What happened?"

Perverted? Misunderstanding? Oh he watched way too many movies and animes. She shook her head. "No Chaton. We just had the same sense of humor. We learned we loved wordplay, and the cleverer it was, the better. Your father was very awkward when he tried to be romantic, something I found adorable. He learned slowly how to be absolutely charming, but it was his honest fumblings I found more endearing than all the poetry in the world. He was forced most his life to be a perfect example to the world by his father, so being anything but was so adorable and charming, I fell for him.

"Course when he learned how to seduce me, I was putty in his hands." And that wasn't until after a year of less and less awkward moments and kisses. Their courtship was not fast or something from a fairy tale, but it was magic for them. She looked off into the distance lovingly. "When he asked me to marry him, it wasn't a surprise at all, but it was perfect. It was… Christmas."

That was it. That was the reason this season hit her so hard this time. Nearly twenty years ago that day, Gabriel was walking with her in the snow, headed to their favorite cafe, hoping to get there and be their last customers for the night. They didn't quite make it in time, but the owners were kind and let them in long enough to thaw. Gabriel had his usual coffee and she her tea, and everything seemed normal. He'd taken to holding her hands as they talked lately, warming them all winter long. She forgot he was learning slight of hand, and the moment he let go of her hands so they could leave, she felt a weight on her finger.

She looked at the ring he put there just as he opened the door for them to leave. " _You coming?_ "

They fell into the snow outside the shop, having thrown herself into him and kissing him with all her soul as her answer. Yes, his proposal was perfect.

"He proposed at Christmas?"

Adrien brought her back from her memories as she smiled. "Yes he did. But that story's for another day.

"What you need to learn, Adrien, is how to get a girl's attention, right?" Back to her adorable blushing son. That was safer overall. The boy nodded, the pink returning to his face. "Well I'll tell you what not to do: pull her pigtails."

That got her a glare. "I'm not in love with Marinette!"

"Who said anything about Marinette?" That was a quick leap. "It's an expression. Does she wear pigtails?"

Adrien turned a brilliant red, realizing his mistake. "Uh… yeah, she does. I… I just thought..."

His mother snickered. Too cute. "A lot of little boys pull on girls' hair to get their attention, and we hate it. Pigtails are just easy to grab. But overall, don't be mean to get a girl's attention. If you want your crush to like you, don't be a jerk."

"I got that." He sure did. There wasn't a mean bone in Adrien's body. "But just being nice doesn't get a girl's attention."

"Then try humor. Everyone loves to laugh, and I'm certain your mystery girl does too." He seemed to accept that one, so she went for something a lot better. "But more than humor, a girl loves it when a man is genuine with her."

"Genuine?"

"Say what he means and isn't afraid to open up." This was a little harder to explain, especially to a teenager. "Boys, especially at your age, try to make themselves look better than they need to. A lot of bravado and posing. That's fine if a girl just wants to flirt or isn't taking boys seriously, but if you want love, you have to be real to her. Girls want a deeper connection when they want a man. One that… makes them feel something all the way through their bodies.

"I think that was why your father's awkwardness was so charming. I knew he was trying, and the way he was trying was just so adorable." The time he actually asked Pavlin out on a date was fumbling and silly, but he was serious about her. It was too bad she had to turn him down that time. Course she asked him out to coffee as herself the next day, and accidentally fell into their banter in the middle of it. Gabriel figured her out within 24 hours. It was a miracle no one else figured out Pavlin's identity with how easily she gave herself away that day.

"So… to get a girl to like me… I have to be… awkward?" That definitely didn't appeal to her son, proving he didn't quite understand what she was talking about.

"No, you have to be real. A girl can tell when you put up a front. So basically," Emilie smiled lovingly at her son, "just be yourself. If you fumble, it's alright. Girls find that cute. Showoffs get written off, and liars thrown aside. If you like this girl, be yourself, and she'll be falling all over you."

"Falling all over me, huh?" Adrien looked off, his eyes going to the tree they were going towards most of the walk. "That'd be -"

He hissed, wincing and grabbing his head suddenly in pain. Emilie wrapped her arms around him instantly, panic rising in her. "Adrien! What's wrong? What happ-"

"I'm okay." He kept a hand on his forehead, struggling to open his eyes. "Just… headache."

Worry did not leave his mother, and probably never would. There was something very wrong about this headache, she could tell. From that hiss, it must have been like a knife in his brain, sharp and fast. He was regaining his balance and concentration fast, but the fact he was in pain for a moment was not to be ignored. "We should go home."

"No. Not yet." Adrien looked up, the pain less in his eyes and his breathing a little better. "It's passing. Wasn't that bad."

"Adrien." Emilie's tone commanded his full attention and honesty. She rarely took this tone with him, but she had to now. Boy could be just as stubborn as his parents. "Has this ever happened before?"

She saw the guilt in his face before he could answer. "Once or twice."

"When?"

He looked away a little, then answered. "The… the day Papi collapsed… and the first day of school, before Stoneheart."

She blinked, thinking of those days. Both were emotionally trying days, but in different ways. Today was the same, and in a different way. And Nooroo warned her about today.

This had to be part of Gabriel's price. "I see."

"It doesn't last long," he tried to smooth it over. "Not even a minute. It just… happens."

"Well if it happens again, tell me." She looked back to where their bodyguard was quickly approaching, seeing something was wrong. Emilie shook her head briefly. It wasn't anything dangerous. The 'Gorilla' stopped his approach and hung back obediently. Soon she and Adrien straightened, well enough to continue walking. "Are you sure you don't want to go straight home?"

"I'm fine, really." He tried to smile it off, but he also took a step away from her. "This is the tree right? Looks really nice."

Emilie watched him carefully for a moment before following him towards the tree. "That it does. Much better than the one they put up a few years ago. I bet Andre is really proud of the changes. Bit of a pushover, but he really does care about this city."

"Yeah..."

She turned her gaze away from the tree and back to her son, just a few steps away from her. He wasn't looking at the tree, but at a sign post nearby. One of their product's ads was nailed to it and for some reason he just seemed troubled about it. He touched it carefully, as if expecting it to break. When it didn't, he just looked more confused.

Something was definitely not right.

Gently she put her hand on his shoulder, stirring him from his confusion. She smiled calmly, giving him the stability he clearly needed right then. "Come on. Let's keep going. I'll show you the cafe where your father proposed to me."

That succeeded in getting him out of his thoughts, and he grinned, fingering the scarf he was certain came from his father. "Cool. Which way?"

* * *

"Adrien, would you mind showing our guest around and letting Claire know we'll have another here for dinner?" Emilie slowly removed her hat and coat as soon as they entered the building, something eating at the back of her mind. She had to get this settled or she'd never make it though the holidays.

"Sure! This way Mr. Claus." Adrien's energy returned in full during the sleigh ride home with their new friend. This sweet boy of hers gave Santa his new hat and offered a good meal for the season after hearing the man talk, and she couldn't be prouder. Man would certainly help any runaway or lost child if given the chance. He deserved a good Christmas, not an akumatization.

Gabriel really was a fool to do that last time.

Shaking her head at her idiot husband, she made her way to the office and secured it before going to the passage. There was something she had to get cleared up, now.

"Nooroo? You there?"

"Of course." The kwami flew to were Emilie stood, far out of sight of Gabriel's bed. If she saw him now, she may end up in the same place she was a couple hours ago. "What is the matter Emilie? Aren't you going to visit Gabriel? Or are you going to -"

"I just have a few questions about the price, that's all." Every time an akumatization was scheduled to happen, Nooroo got antsy. Really, she was better than before, but the kwami was traumatized by all the wrong Gabriel made her do. The man had a lot to answer for later.

"The price?"

"Are other people also paying it?" She had to know. Adrien's headaches and some things people said, they couldn't be normal.

The kwami shifted uncomfortably in thought. "Not… exactly..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well..." she started, uncertain. "Plagg and Tikki said the feelings from the previous timeline would remain, and some memories as well. The stronger they were, the more the person could tell. And if events changed, they would also be able to tell."

Emilie's eyes widened. "Tell? Like with headaches? Or deja vu?"

"Deja vu would be the most common," Nooroo admitted. "Headaches would happen with changes with a lot of emotion."

"Such as someone's father landing in the hospital instead of his mother going missing." She shook her head slowly. Adrien's life had changed the most of anyone next to her. Whatever happened to her in the previous timeline, it wasn't something she bothered keeping in the back of her brain. Adrien's first day of school and first Christmas without her must have been very impactful for him. Surprised he didn't have a headache on his birthday. He certainly didn't have one during the surprise party.

"Yes, like that."

"So people saying Adrien's a model, or him insisting a scarf clearly made by someone else was from his father, are residuals from the previous timeline?"

Nooroo rubbed her palms nervously. "He was a model then, and rather popular. Gabriel thought if you could see him out there, you might come home."

"Gabriel, you id-"

"He also said Adrien didn't smile for a long time after your disappearance." That stung, making the lady look back to the entrance and the way to her son. "He smiled for the camera though. It was his way of cheering him up."

"That's Gabriel for you." Emilie let out a long breath, shaking her head. Hopefully she diverted an akuma and the sweet man upstairs would be fine. And in time, Adrien wouldn't have any more headaches. "So I need to expect more headaches from Adrien until things are back on track."

"It looks so."

"You know, I'd love a good long conversation with Tikki and Plagg some time. I have so many questions."

"The guardian would be able to answer them better," Nooroo promised. "Plagg tends to be difficult and Tikki sticks to the rules fairly closely. Kwamis aren't allowed to -"

"Share everything, I know. I got the run down from Dusuu." She let out a long breath and nodded. "Alright. Now I have a better idea what to expect. Ever had a yule log?"

"Pardon?" The kwami cocked her head to the side, confused.

"A yule log. It's a… You know what? Never mind. I'll bring down two slices along with a dinner plate for Felicia during a bathroom break tonight. Sound good Felicia?" She called further into the 'lair' and got a quick response back.

"What'd be better is if ya found your son's big secret, kicked everyone else out of the house, and let me go upstairs to find my own food! Egad! It's boring down here!"

"I know, I know." Emilie smirked to herself and snickered to Nooroo. "She's laying odds Adrien's gay. This coming from someone who only met him once."

"It's possible!"

Nooroo just giggled at the banter. "What do you think his 'secret' is?"

She looked up in thought and tried to figure it out for a moment. She still wasn't convinced he even had a secret. Well, maybe one? "I think he's hiding a pet in his room, maybe a rodent? He keeps getting Camembert for some reason, and though he smells like it, his breath doesn't. That or he has a friend with really expensive tastes in cheese. I only find the wrappers in his room, and no other signs of a pet or secret friend."

"Anything's possible." The pleased smile on the kwami's face slightly unnerved her. So maybe there was a secret after all, and Camembert is the key.

If cheese was all she ever needed to find the faction, she was sure to call up who or whatever Adrien was feeding. Either way, she didn't feel anything wrong with the cheese secret, so she chose to ignore it. Her son wasn't much of a liar anyway, especially to her.

He was a cuddler though, and that night after dinner and her bread delivery, she spent the night cuddling with him on his couch, watching Christmas movies until they couldn't keep their eyes open. Adrien was practically hugging that scarf as he held onto her, a slight purr coming from him as he slept. That cute quirk he had since infancy liked to come back every now and again like this, and kept his pet name going every day. Emilie loved her Chaton to the end of the world and back.

Exhausted, she blearily looked over to a picture Adrien had of their family taken not that long ago. Gabriel stood behind them, noble and proud. It wasn't his best look. She preferred the haggard college student she saved from certain death and asked her to model her costume for him that night. But it was professional and what society wanted at the moment so she let him do it. He was healthy and proud, a much better image than the man below in a bed.

She smiled at it with longing, wishing the real man was with them. "Merry Christmas, Gabriel."

* * *

A/N: Last time Emilie caused an akuma. This time she stopped one from happening. Most of the time Gabriel had little to do with the emotions driving a person to be akumatized, so where she can prevent them, she'll try. And she will continue to prod Adrien about Marinette whenever she feels like it.

So how did you like my background story for Gabriel and Emilie's courtship? And a brief on their lives? Yeah, there has to be a reason Gabriel insists Adrien's perfect so I've kinda crafted a headcanon involving his father and... well... this is one of the reasons I'm having trouble with this story. Keep coming up with future plots rather than sticking with what needs to be done here. In the end, it becomes a convoluted Agreste affair. *sigh* As for their courtship, I wanted something a little more down to earth. I've heard a lot of stories that were whirlwind romances (which Adrien addresses with his questions on how they met [common anime and romcom plot devices]) but the best ones were long friendships becoming more and weren't whirlwinds. Those relationships last and are far more common. And I love the way Gabriel proposed. nothing fancy at all, just put the ring on her finder and asked her if she was coming with him. So fun!

The headaches are going to happen every so often but there's no adverse effects. I've played with memories and headaches over rewriting timelines before so this is a me thing. Adrien and Emilie's lives are being changed a lot, same with Felicia, Nathalie, and the Gorilla (he needs a real name!) but for some the changes are too subtle to notice or so different there's no comparison. Adrien's is the most significant overall since he was directly involved in the change happening and knows in the back of his mind what's happening. So sorry to hurt your pretty head Chaton. ;p

Yes I made the purring an Adrien thing more than a Chat thing. It's fun.

And Felicia's theory about Adrien's secret is something fairly normal for people to come up with under these circumstances. Emilie's closer to the truth (how has Gabriel not even noticed it?) with him having a secret 'pet'/friend in his room, but without more evidence, she can't confront him.

One last note, I've been doing some research on France for an actual novel so I'm fairly confident in what I said about the climate there. Only people from/lived a few years in France can tell me for certain if I'm wrong, as I've never been there and can't afford to go probably ever. Also, to those said people, do you have any recommendations for research for 9th/10th century France? :D I need help.

COmments are loved and adored, and there's still a poll on my profile. Hiatus is probably gonna happen while I try to figure out the next few chapters and speed things up. Plus I got this aged up idea I wanna try out. And a few video games... Laters!


	12. 12 – No Signal

This chapter took forever to finish! And I rewrote the ending TWICE! *pulls out hair* such a pain...

Anywho, there's a companion piece to this one now, and it'll help me get through the series a little faster. It's called 'Left over bits' and covers the akuma attacks that are easily avoidable that don't need Emilie. I want suggestions there too. Any akumas that are plot driven are in here, mentioned or otherwise, but if all a person had to do was put a watch in their pocket to avoid an akuma, then it's over there. Gabriel started Akumas are not. Emilie will have to deal with those.

Without any more delays, here's the next chapter! enjoy!

* * *

 **12 – No Signal**

1 year 3 months 22 days

Emilie did not want the day to start. She didn't want the week to start. She just didn't want to start at all. It was all too close, too soon. And she was certain, very, very certain, this was the first day leading to the most devastating day of her life.

In just a few days, it would be one year since Gabriel's collapse.

One year without her husband.

One year without Dusuu.

One full year defenseless against a faceless enemy currently using her old friend.

One year as a single mother.

Gabriel started acting strange just a few day prior, but she wasn't sure if he turned back the clock that day or a few days sooner. All she knew was the days leading up to the attack were happy and blissful for her and her husband. They reignited the spark that was slowly dying due to his work, and it burned so brightly she couldn't bear to let him go. He was hers all over again, and within a week, he was gone.

A tear leaked down her face as she tried, unsuccessfully, to sleep. All she wanted was for that lump downstairs to wake up and hold her again. He didn't have to do anything else. Just be there with her. A year alone was a pain she could hardly take, and could hardly bare to continue. Why did he have to be so reckless?

She tried to close her eyes, praying for sleep to overtake her again, when a soft knock came to her door. Her eyes quickly found the clock on the bed stand, wondering if she lost track of time in her mental moanings, but it was still just after 1am, and she hadn't slept a wink. Who was knocking? "Yes?"

Slowly her door creaked open and Emilie spotted a sad green eye looking through it. To think her brave teenaged son would shyly knock on her door at this hour… "Something wrong, Adrien?"

"I… I couldn't sleep." He opened the door a little more, letting her see his troubled face. Adrien's eyes were probably as red as hers, but there was some fear in them she hadn't seen in a long time. A nightmare. He must have had a nightmare. One so bad, and so troubling this time, he couldn't stand being alone. "Could… could I…"

Emilie smiled lovingly at her adorable son, still as sweet and innocent as he was when he was four, and pulled back the covers of her bed. He came over immediately and gave her a big hug, holding onto her for dear life. Whatever that nightmare was, Adrien couldn't handle it alone. She couldn't handle her thoughts alone either, so it worked out fine for both of them. She lovingly petted his head, reassuring him everything was going to be alright, even if she didn't feel it was at that moment. Everything would turn out alright.

"You're not going to disappear," he murmured against her, holding back tears, "right?"

His mother just held him tighter, figuring out his nightmare. A residual memory from the previous timeline. Her disappearance. Emile kissed her boy's head, running a hand down his back as she made a promise. "I'll always be here, Adrien. And Papi will come home too. We won't leave you alone, Chaton. I promise."

That only relaxed him a little, but it was enough to get them both to settle down in the bed and try to get some sleep. She missed her husband terribly, but in the back of their son's mind, he missed both of his parents. She needed to be there, and be strong, for him.

Maybe she'd find strength for that in the morning.

* * *

Spoiler alert.

She didn't.

Instead, Emilie found coffee in the morning and took a midday break to deliver a cup to Felicia. Marco would be having a field day looking for her in a bit, and Nathalie would likely be on her tail for ditching work, but they were ahead of the game for a bit and this week and next were not going to be easy for the Agrestes. If Nathalie wanted to pick a fight with someone, pick one with the faction and Le Paon. Pavlin and her trusty doctor cousin needed coffee.

"So what do ya think of the attack this morning?" Felicia was finishing up another record for the books, bored out of her mind after a year nearly entirely underground. She went out occasionally through the secret passage, but mostly she stayed in isolation down below. Not like she had any support staff to keep an eye on things after all.

Emilie sipped her coffee as she looked at her growing project near Gabriel's bed: a mystery board detailing every akuma attack so far. Maybe if she found more to the pattern, she'd be able to find Le Paon and take care of everything early. She had another board with details on Ladybug and a third on Chat Noir, but they were just for fun while the attack board was more important. Figuring out Paris' heroes was secondary to figuring out their enemy. "Overly simple. I think the victim was angry over a parking space."

"Probably a rough wake up call for the kiddos though." They both nodded to that. Adrien was up earlier than Emilie was and out the door fairly fast, hoping to catch a friend before they went after the attack for footage. Alya Cesaire maybe? She was the one behind the very useful Ladyblog after all. She just had to stay positive or she'd be turned into an akuma. Hopefully Adrien would be able to see to that. "Can't say I blame the guy though. Parking here's a bi-"

"Ladybug still looks awkward on camera." She pointed out the web footage on one of the computers they set up down there. Felicia used one for goofing off and reports while Emilie focused on the case. "Maybe a few interviews with a blogger can ease her up?"

"Says the person who never sat down for an interview, ever."

The former hero shrugged. She hated interviews, but she did okay with press conferences. Pavlin never let the cameras roll on her, but Emilie Agreste did allow for a few now and again. She wasn't about to let her cousin know how good she got at manipulating people on the other side. If she had a preference, Emilie preferred to be asking the questions, not answering them. "Just a thought. And maybe then Lady Wifi won't happen."

"Just because you dodged one akuma over Christmas doesn't mean you can dodge another, featherbrain." Felicia was so full of tact. "Teenagers are emotional roller coasters and you know it. Mark my words, everyone in Adrien's school will get akumatized, even him."

"Heaven help the world if that ever happens," Emilie murmured before looking back to her boards. "Because if it does, Lady Hawkmoth will rise up and rip a bird girl to pieces.

"Now… Le Paon… where are you going to strike next?"

* * *

Emilie groaned over the paperwork she clambered through. She just had to ditch work for a couple hours. Sighing, she looked at the Ladyblog for any new information and pouted when there was none. Le Paon rarely had two attacks in a single day, and sometimes she went a week without attacking once. Her attacks were more at her leisure than the desperate ones Gabriel wrote about.

He had a clear goal in mind: get his wife back.

What was Le Paon's goal?

She sighed inside and tried to clear her head. What was the goal of the faction? Why have pawns like Le Paon? Did they even understand why the two miraculous were so valuable? What was the endgame? These questions swarmed her mind every so often, it was a wonder she hadn't solved the mystery ages ago. A fresh look at things was definitely needed. And a real night's sleep.

Deciding enough was enough, Emilie put her paperwork away and called Claude up to take her home. It was past dinner, but maybe she'd be able to get a quick supper and see her son to bed? How was he doing that day anyway?

In the car, she heard a ping on her phone and eagerly picked it up to see what the notification was about. Ladyblog. Okay, so there was a second attack that day. Not the first time an attack slipped past her notice. Not all of them threatened the city or made a big splash, so no reason to fuss over this one. Opening up the site, she stopped and gaped at the title.

 **I Was Akumatized!**

Emilie immediately gripped her face, feeling the headache coming. Alya Cesaire – Lady Wifi. Well, that was another person in Adrien's school off the list. "Why wasn't I notified of this one?"

* * *

"Ah… what?" Adrien blinked at his mother in surprise as she thrust her phone in front of him.

"I said, why didn't I get a message saying Alya was akumatized earlier?" Really, it was a simple question, and she deserved an answer. After rushing home and sending a message to Claire for a light meal, Emilie's first real task was to talk to her son about something she should have learned within an hour after it started! From what she read, Alya was akumatized at school, during classes. When Adrien was there! So why didn't he tell her what happened?

Her son blinked at her in surprise over his homework, not believing what she was saying. "I… I thought my bodyguard told you."

"I knew you went home early," she admitted. "I just didn't know why. Why didn't you tell me your friend was akumatized?"

"Honestly… I forgot. To message you, that is." The teen looked away awkwardly and started rubbing his neck as he tried to explain, another bad habit he picked up from all the animes they watched. "Alya was suspended because she was looking for clues that Chloe was Ladybug in her locker."

"She thought Chloe was Ladybug?" 100% impossible. Speaking from experience, there was no way a Miraculous would change a person that much. Plus, how could Chloe save herself from Stoneheart like she did? That'd take serious magic, and she was pretty sure Ladybug didn't duplicate.

"Yeah, not her best idea," Adrien admitted, looking away. "And the only reason Alya got suspended was because Chloe threatened Mr. Demeclees with her father."

"Where did she go wrong?" Emilie shook her head, remembering the sweet girl Chloe once was. Then again, the girl wanted to be loved like her mother pretty badly. She seemed to be emulating her more and more each day, and honestly that wasn't a good thing. Her mother was a selfish prick, and that was putting it nicely.

"So Alya ran off, and then when she became Lady Wifi, she only had three targets. Well, four I guess. Mr. Demeclees, Chloe, Ladybug and Chat Noir. You know, for their Miraculous." He smirked slightly at the memory. "And since she could teleport through phones, she only had to go after her targets, no excess damage. Our teacher sent us home fast, but honestly, no one else was in danger. So I just forgot about it and did my lessons and homework instead."

"You just forgot about a friend being turned into an akuma?" Part of his mother wanted to call his bluff. There was no way her son was that forgetful. Then again, this attack had nothing to do with him or anyone else outside those five people. Small-scale akuma fights were easy to forget about.

"Well…" Adrien cringed, rectifying the statement by pointing to his computer nearby. "I tried to keep up with it, but being in my room and not anywhere near it, I didn't think it was worth telling you about."

Honestly, she couldn't see any flaws in his logic. So she just gave it up. "I see. Well, next time you learn one of your classmates was akumatized, no matter how 'insignificant' or 'small time' it may be, tell me. I want to know about the attacks at your school, Adrien. All of them."

She needed more data, more information and motives. Le Paon wasn't going to just turn herself in after all. And Adrien being in the thick of it was a very valuable resource. Of all the people in Paris, she was probably the one person who could unravel this mystery. Even though he was in danger this way, if he could tell her anything, she'd take it.

Her son nodded, looking to the side slightly. "Alright, I'll tell you when they happen."

"But don't go running after them," Emilie amended. Yes keep her informed, but don't get yourself killed over this. "One day, Ladybug and Chat Noir won't be able to fix things, and I don't want you getting hurt that day."

Something seemed to flash behind his eyes, a pain or fear maybe, but in an instant, it was gone and he was smiling awkwardly at her. "Okay, Mami. I will do my best to not get caught up in any akuma fights. Just hope Le Paon doesn't try to akumatize me."

She closed the distance between them and gave him a goodnight kiss on his head. "Just stay positive and she won't get the chance, Chaton. Stay positive, and stay safe."

* * *

1 year 3 months 19 days

Le Paon wouldn't let him keep his promise for even three days.

Emilie was debating what to do when the anniversary day actually arrived when she got a ping on her phone. Distracted, she unlocked it and gaped at the message.

Princess Fragrance was going after the prince in the news lately currently staying at Chloe's hotel, and her perfume controlled the people around her, turning into musical zombie servants. "Silly powers is right. Gabriel, where did you come up with this one?"

Well, it was far from Adrien's school, so that was one good thing, and he was at home for another. Just a quick look at the phone tracking app and she knew her son was safely distracted far from the action. She'd look up who the kid behind this spell was when she got home. All that mattered now was her son was safe and, with this being a less violent akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir would be able to wrap this one up before dinner. Nothing to worry about but work and finding out who the girl was later from the Ladyblog and Adrien, if the victim was from his school.

So she put her phone aside and went back to work.

She regretted it when Adrien tried to sneak pass by the dining room unnoticed much later that evening than he should have been.

The smell coming off of him was far too strong to not notice. "Adrien? Please tell me you're going for a shower."

Watching her son stop mid step was comical in it's own right. He looked at her sheepishly and nodded. "That's exactly right, Mami. I'm going to take a shower and come right -"

"Why do you smell like young girl's perfume?" Emilie came into the doorway and leaned against it, eyeing her awkwardly cringing son. He knew he was caught, and he wasn't going to get out of it, but what was he feeling so guilty about? She raised an eyebrow. "Making out with a classmate?"

"NO! Of course not!" His cringe became indignation, almost stomping his foot rigidly to prove his point. So he wasn't making out with some girl in his class. Too bad. She needed something to tease him about and clearly his friend Marinette wasn't close enough to be a good target yet.

"Then why do you smell like perfume?" It was perfume, not cologne, and a sweet flowery scent only young teens would like. She'd know. She was one once.

Adrien looked away, trying to not get caught. He had no idea how much he acted like his father some days. Finally he gave in. "Uh… there was this… akuma attack… and… well…"

His mother froze, her heart stilling. For the love of chocolate, you had to be kidding! "Did Princess Fragrance get her hands on you?"

"Not her hands…" His gaze slowly game back to her, cringing the entire time. "But… well… I kinda snuck out for a bit and became her vassal for a while. Don't even remember it. Apparently, the ladybug miraculous cure-all thing doesn't do so well getting smells out of clothes. Chloe smells worse than a landfill. I thought if I fixed things fast, you wouldn't notice and worry or try to ground me because I really couldn't call you or do anything about it after being sprayed and Rose has some very interesting scent choices – oh Princess Fragrance was Rose from class. Chloe made fun of her scented letters to Prince Ali and tore one up, but apparently she was also using perfume in science class when everyone was working with fire so it wasn't a good idea to begin with, so even though Chloe was harsh, I couldn't fault her for making a stink about it, and Rose ran off after trying to use Chloe as a courier so no one could talk to her about it and -"

"Adrien -" Since when did he ramble like this? He stopped sheepishly, looking up at her again as if expecting to be punished. Emilie sighed, a headache starting between her eyes. "Just take a shower and come back down for dinner."

* * *

1 year 3 months 17 days

Somehow… somehow Emilie made it through the day. She wanted to sleep through it, forget everything. But Nathalie made sure that never happened. The day was so packed with paperwork and meetings and last minute design adjustments, she didn't have more than a few minutes to herself. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she should be angry or thankful to her husband's assistant.

Looking over her husband now, she still wasn't sure. "No change?"

"Not a one." Felicia took something off his bed, decreasing the amount of tubes gradually over the day. After a year with no changes and analyzing the data again, they came to the conclusion Gabriel didn't need life support so much as function support. They kept in the feeding tube and catheter, and of course all the equipment to keep his muscle functional, but he did not need help breathing or anything to stimulate heart and brain activity. So long as he was fed, hydrated, and his muscles didn't atrophy, he was fine just sleeping there.

She flipped the card next to the bed counting down the days until he woke up. 365 down, 474 left.

Less than half of his price paid.

It was a long year.

As she sighed, her cousin shook her head. "Ya really need to stop hoping he'll wake up early. It's not gonna happen."

"I know… but…" Emilie sighed again, still wishing. Tired, she shook her head and leaned over his face. Gently she pecked his cheek and whispered, "Hurry home for me. Please."

There was one louder than normal beep from the monitor, but that was her only answer. Felicia sighed dramatically, likely tired of all of this too. "If I were ya, I'd worry more about yer son's secret. Any closer?"

"I know what he's not." Shaking her head, Emilie started back towards the main part of the house. She had to check on Adrien before going to bed and putting this entire day out of her mind.

"Ya don't know for certain yet!" came her cousin's call. She laughed in response and waved her off. With Gabriel so secure and self-sufficient, Felicia was going out on the town for a few hours via the secret tunnel, and Emilie was going to bed.

The mansion's lonely halls seemed to echo with her footsteps as she made her way to Adrien's room to check on him. It was nearly midnight so she had to be quiet as she opened his bedroom door. And found his bed empty.

For a moment panic gripped her heart. Her son was gone. On the anniversary of her husband's collapse. Were they -

Quickly she tried to shake the thought from her head. Adrien's room was the most secure room in the building next to the 'secret lair'. Nothing got in unless he let it. Which meant he left of his own accord. Tonight. On the anniversary of her husband's collapse.

She turned on her heel and raced to her room, finding the door ajar. Tension left her immediately as she spotted Adrien sleeping in their bed, cheeks stained with dry tears.

Emilie watched him from the doorway for a moment, smiling gently at her sweet son. His hand clutched that mysterious scarf as he slept along with one of Gabriel's ties, the red and white one he wore whenever she was away. Though her boy tried to be strong every day, he still missed his Papi. And so did she.

Quietly she slipped under the covers with her baby and gave him a warm hug. He snuggled up to her, some tension leaving his face. There was still so much worrying him, making her wish yet again Gabriel's price was paid just a little faster.

As she fell asleep, she didn't notice a black cat with vibrant green eyes watching over them, gears churning in its head. If she had, maybe her wish would have been granted.

* * *

A/N: See why it took me forever to figure this one out? Combining two akuma attacks and celebrating the beginning of all of this at the same time was a pain in the neck! Not to mention RL and all my dental crap. *sigh* I also had to rewatch Princess Fragrance because I totally got events wrong the first time I had Adrien explaining things. Mixed it up with Simon Says and Pharoh for some reason. Whatever.

Next eps planned has Dark Cupid and Pharoh mentioned. Any idea what Adrien and Chloe will do since he's not a model here? SHe can't trick him into signing a poster but there's no way she's gonna let go of him. Plus I need some sappy poetry ideas, for V-day. Just references is fine.

And before I forget to mention it, I have two reoccurring nightmares for Adrien, and both are written. So fun

Please leave me a review/comment below! I love them more than views, faves, and watches combined. Poll still up for story. Enjoy!


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